I. Ne
- The little word ne has a few different uses in Italian. A common, relatively simple use of ne is to replace nouns preceded by a number or an expression of quantity (molto, poco, tanto, troppo or un chilo, tre bottiglie, etc.). In these cases, ne means of it or of them--though this is often unexpressed in English. Take a look at the following examples.
--Quante mele vuoi? How many apples do you want? --Ne voglio due. I want two [of them]. --Guardi tanti programmi? Do you watch many programs? --No, ne guardo pochi. No, I watch few [of them]. --Hai comprato del latte? Did you buy some milk? --Sì, ne ho comprato una bottiglia. Yes, I bought a bottle [of it].
In compound tenses (passato prossimo), the past participle must agree in gender and number with the expression being replaced by ne.