ITALIAN/ITALIANO QUESTION--about grammar READ DETAILS?

Question

ok, in the sentence "Ci sono quattro zampe? Sì, ce ne sono quattro" or in the sentence "Ci sono sei dita? No, ce ne sono cinque." what does the "ne" mean? why dont u just say, "Sì, ci sono quattro" instead of "Sì, ce ne sono quattro." i dont get it, please help thx

Answer 1

Think of "ne" as somewhat of an "it" and mostly as an "of that" as in: How many do you have? We have (of that) five... Ne abbiamo cinque. There are certain exceptions like when you want to say "I'm leaving"... "me ne vado".

It's a little bit confusing but just use it freely every time you don't want to say the name of the thing you are talking about or counting.

Answer 2

"Ne" is the same as "ce", only you use it to describe amounts of things. When some one says, for example, "C'e qui," (it is here), they're using "Ce" for people, or things. "Ne" is used for amounts, numbers, etc. When you use "Ce" and "Ne" together, you're basically saying, "Here, the amount is four" when you say "ce ne sono quattro". I know there isnt anything similar in english so it's hard... i've always had a hard time with it, too. Hope this helped you.

Answer 3

The ne means roughly: "of them".
--> "Yes, there are four of them" rather than "yes, there are four"
It kind of fills the gap left if you omit the "zampe" or "dita".