Italian Phrase
La maggior parte degli invitati ha già risposto.
Meaning
The sentence states that most of the people who were invited have already given their answer. It emphasizes that a majority, not necessarily all, have responded to the invitation.
When to use
Use this phrase when you are organizing an event, a wedding, a conference, or any gathering and you want to inform someone (a co‑organizer, a family member, a colleague) about the current RSVP status.
✦Grammar Breakdown
Lamaggiorpartedegliinvitatihagiàrisposto
La (definite article, fem. sing.)
Introduces a specific noun phrase; agrees in gender and number with the noun it modifies.
maggior parte (partitive expression)
Literally ‘greater part’; used to talk about the majority of a group. It behaves as a singular noun, so the verb that follows is singular.
degli (partitive article)
Combines the preposition ‘di’ + the plural article ‘gli’; means ‘of the’ and introduces the group being referred to.
invitati (plural noun)
Means ‘guests’ or ‘invitees’; the noun is plural, but because it follows ‘maggior parte’, the whole subject is treated as singular.
ha già risposto (present perfect with avere)
‘ha’ is the third‑person singular of ‘avere’; ‘già’ means ‘already’; ‘risposto’ is the past participle of ‘rispondere’, forming the present perfect ‘has already responded’.
Subject‑verb agreement
Even though ‘invitati’ is plural, the verb agrees with ‘maggior parte’, which is singular, so we use ‘ha’ not ‘hanno’.
🗨In Conversation
Hai controllato le risposte?
Did you check the replies?
Sì, la maggior parte degli invitati ha già risposto.
Yes, most of the invitees have already responded.
✕Common Mistakes
La maggior parte degli invitati hanno già risposto.
The verb must stay singular because the subject is ‘la maggior parte’, which is treated as singular.
La maggior parte dei invitati ha già risposto.
If you replace ‘degli’ with ‘dei’, the meaning shifts to ‘of the’ rather than the partitive ‘of the invitees’. The correct partitive article is ‘degli’.
La maggior parte degli invitati ha risposto.
Omitting ‘già’ changes the nuance; the sentence would simply state that they have responded, without the sense of ‘already’.
↔Alternatives
La maggior parte degli ospiti ha già risposto.
Most of the guests have already responded.
Molti invitati hanno già risposto.
Many invitees have already responded.
Quasi tutti gli invitati hanno già dato conferma.
Almost all the invitees have already confirmed.
Cultural Tip
In Italy, RSVPs ("conferma di partecipazione") are taken seriously, especially for weddings and formal dinners. It’s considered polite to reply as soon as you know your plans, and hosts often follow up with a gentle reminder if the response rate is low. Using a phrase like this shows you’re on top of the organization and respects the guests’ time.