Lesson 1.10 - Avere

Hi everyone / anyone ..   I am new Rocket Italian Learner.    

Can somebody explain why the proposition dei suddenly appears in the sentence “Voi avete dei compiti”.

I understand dei is masc plural preposition meaning of or from.

But why is dei not used in previous sentences such as  “ Voi avete una machina” or “Noi abbiamo i passaporti” etc.    Thanks

Hi LisaOz, 

Thanks for your question!

Although the preposition “dei” is used to refer to “of” (masc. plural), it is also used to say “some” when referring to a masc. plural noun (indefinite article). You will find more information on this page: https://app.rocketlanguages.com/members/products/37/lesson/5642

Here are a couple of examples: 

Ho visto dei fiori. --→ I saw some flowers.

Ho trovato dei ragni sul muro.--→ I found some spiders on the wall.

As mentioned, “dei” can also be used to say “of”:

Ho preso la macchina dei miei genitori. --→ I took the car of my parents.

Quella casa è dei miei amici. --→ That's my friends' house.

Hope this helps :)

Fantastico caterina.  Mille grazie.  

Lisa