Italian · CEFR Band 1 (A1) · Chapter 13
C'è un bar qui vicino?Is there a bar nearby?
Two little words open the city: c'è («there is, it exists») and ci sono (its plural). C'è un bar qui vicino? Ci sono due banche. The CILS exam question is literally this — «C'è un supermercato qui vicino?» — and from today it is yours. Mind the difference: è tells how or where a thing you already know is; c'è announces that a thing EXISTS. With them come the city words: il bar, il ristorante, il negozio, il supermercato, la farmacia, la banca — and the pair qui/vicino.
Dialogue
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È un bar qui vicino?— «Is a bar nearby»? (the wrong little verb)
- MikeGiulia… è un bar qui vicino?Giulia… «is a bar nearby»? (Plain è where existence needs c'è — the slip this chapter fixes.)
- GiuliaC'È un bar qui vicino? Con c'è! È dice COM'È una cosa; c'è dice che ESISTE.C'È un bar qui vicino? With c'è! È tells WHAT a thing is like; c'è says that it EXISTS.
- MikeC'è un bar qui vicino?Is there a bar nearby?
- GiuliaSì! C'è il bar di Marco — e ci sono due ristoranti e una farmacia.Yes! There's Marco's bar — and there are two restaurants and a pharmacy. (ci sono — the plural of c'è.)
Dialogue
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Il giro del quartiere— The neighborhood tour
- MarcoGiulia, qui c'è la farmacia — e vicino ci sono due banche.Giulia, here's the pharmacy — and nearby there are two banks.
- GiuliaE c'è un supermercato?And is there a supermarket?
- MarcoSì, c'è — è qui vicino. Ma non c'è un museo!Yes, there is — it's nearby. But there is NO museum! (non c'è — existence, denied.)
- GiuliaNon c'è un museo, ma c'è il bar di Marco: il museo del cappuccino!There's no museum, but there is Marco's bar: the cappuccino museum!
Vocabulary
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- c'è
phrasethere is (ci + è squeezed — announces that something exists)
- ci sono
phrasethere are (the plural of c'è)
- il bar
n.m.the bar, café (borrowed word — never changes: i bar)
- il ristorante
n.m.the restaurant (-e noun: i ristoranti)
- il negozio
n.m.the shop, store
- il supermercato
n.m.the supermarket (the CILS listening word)
- la farmacia
n.f.the pharmacy
- la banca
n.f.the bank (plural le banche — an h sneaks in to keep the hard c, chapter 4's shield again)
- qui
adverbhere
- vicino
adverbnear, nearby (qui vicino = right around here)
Grammar
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C'è and ci sono — announcing the world
Explanation
To say that something exists or is found somewhere, Italian has a dedicated pair: c'è + singular (C'è un bar), ci sono + plural (Ci sono due banche). The difference from è: use è to talk about a thing you already know (Il bar è piccolo. Dov'è il bar?); use c'è to ANNOUNCE it (C'è un bar qui vicino — «it exists, and it is here»). Many languages cover both jobs with a single verb, which is why the trap is invisible: if you are introducing something new, you need c'è. Negation is clean: non c'è, non ci sono (Non c'è un museo). And the question stays identical to the statement — only the voice rises: C'è un supermercato qui vicino? That is, word for word, the CILS A1 exam question. With qui and vicino you close the circle: Qui c'è la farmacia. Il supermercato è qui vicino.
Examples
- C'è un bar. Ci sono due banche.singular and plural existence, side by side
- Il bar è piccolo. — C'è un bar qui vicino.è describes what you know; c'è introduces what is new
- Non c'è un museo. Non ci sono treni.denied existence: non slots in front, as always (treni «trains» — glossed preview of the travel arc)
- C'è un supermercato qui vicino?the CILS A1 question, word for word — statement shape, rising voice
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