Italian

Grammar
Made Easy
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EPISODE #3

THE QUICK GUIDE

TO C’È AND CI SONO
BY ITALIAN MATTERS

© ITALIAN MATTERS LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

WHAT DO C’È AND CI SONO MEAN?
C’è means there is. Ci sono means there are.
Ci by itself means there. Originally there is (c’è) was written as ci è, but since there are two vowels
next to each other, the letter i is omitted and the apostrophe is added.

HOW TO USE C’È AND CI SONO?

There are two specific rules for the use of c’è and ci sono.

✓ Used when the subject is singular: when
there is only one person, one thing
✓ C’è Paolo. There is Paolo.
✓ C’è una penna. There is one pen.
✓ Used when the subject is plural: when there
is more than one person, more than one
thing
✓ Ci sono i nostri cugini. There are our
cousins.
✓ Ci sono tre tavoli. There are three tables.

These rules also apply to negative sentences, by simply adding non right before c’è and ci sono.
For example: Non c’è Paolo. There isn’t Paolo. Non ci sono tre tavoli. There aren’t three tables.

C’È AND CI SONO CONJUGATED

C’è and ci sono should be conjugated in different moods and tenses depending on whether we are
talking about the past, present, future, conditional, etc.

Indicativo imperfetto
c’era (there was) c’erano (there were)
Indicativo passato remoto
ci fu (there was) ci furono (there were)
Indicativo presente
c’è (there is) ci sono (there are)
Indicativo futuro semplice
ci sarà (there will be) ci saranno (there will be)
Congiuntivo presente
ci sia (that there is) ci siano (that there are)
Congiuntivo imperfetto
ci fosse (that there was) ci fossero (that there were)
Condizionale presente
ci sarebbe (there could / would be) ci sarebbero (there could / would be)

© ITALIAN MATTERS LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.