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Grammar Lesson 88:

The indefinite adjective and pronoun

Poco is an indefinite adjective and pronoun, sometimes also used as a noun and an adverb. It indicates a small quantity of something. It is variable, agreeing with the noun it refers to or replaces.

Masc. Singular	Fem. Singular	Masc. Plural	Fem. Plural	Meaning
poco	poca	pochi	poche	little, few, not many what little, a little of not much, not very

How to use:

As an adjective, poco is directly placed before the noun it refers to. It translates as "little, not much" before uncountable nouns and as "few" before plural nouns:

Examples:

- Ho pochi amici. (I have few friends.)

- Anna ha speso poco denaro per quel vestito. (Anna has spent little money on that dress.)

When referring to time and distance it can translate as "short":

Examples:

- Poco tempo fa. (A short time ago, not long ago.)

- C'è poca strada fra la mia casa e l'ufficio dove lavoro. (There's a short distance between my place and my office.)

Note that Its superlative absolute is pochissimo. It has no comparative, so you have to use meno to make comparatives:

- Pochissimo tempo fa. (A very short time ago.)

- Ne voglio meno (you can't say più poco). (Give me less, please.)

As a noun poco indicates few people or a small amount of something (often of time):

- Pochi capiscono la sua ironia. (Few understand his irony.)

- Basta poco per essere felici. (It doesn't take much to be happy.)

- Siamo rimasti in pochi. (There are but a few of us left.)

- Lavoro in quel caffè da poco. (I've worked in that coffee shop for a short time.)

When preceded by the definite article or the determinative adjective quello, it becomes a noun:

- Quel poco che ho visto mi è bastato. (The little I saw was enough for me.)

Just like molto, poco can be used also as an adverb. In that case it follows a verb, and can precede another adverb / qualifying adjective thus intensify its meaning:

- Anna mangia poco. (Anna eats little.)

- Vivo poco lontano da qui. (I love not far away from here.)

- Anna sta poco bene. (Anna doesn't feel well.)

Some expressions:

- Abbiamo fatto poca strada (fig.). (We haven't gone far.)

- Poche storie! (Don't make a fuss!)

- Poche chiacchiere! (Cut the cackle!)

- Essere un poco di buono. (To be a bad lot.)

- E non è poco! (That's saying a lot.)

- Avere poca memoria. (To have a poor memory.)

- A poco a poco. (Little by little.)

- Basta poco. (It doesn't take much.)

- C'è mancato poco. (That was close.)

- Poco fa. (A short while ago.)

- Fra poco. (Very soon.)

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