The tricky "ci"

Who would think that such a small word could cause so many problems for learners? It might seem simple enough at first, but I've seen many people have a hard time when "ci" starts popping up where they don't really expect it.

In the course of thinking up ideas for blog posts, I realized that many useful phrases use "ci" in some way. So, I wanted to start with this post in order to hopefully clear things up from the start.

The problem, as I see it, is that learners are only really taught "ci"'s first and primary use, the first person plural object pronoun. As in... "ci hanno dato dei soldi" ("they gave us some money") and "ci sentiamo" ("we hear each other"). Everything else is glanced over, and the student unfortunately ends up associating "ci" purely with "us". This creates a big problem when they start seeing it in other places where it doesn't mean that, and they get confused.

So what else does it mean?

In most cases, if it doesn't mean "us", in some way or another it's standing in for something else that has already been mentioned or is understood. It's like "it" or "there" in English- meaningless words unless we already know what "it" is, or where "there" refers to.

Out of these cases, it usually just means "there", as in "the place that's already been mentioned" (not like "over there", which would be "di là"). The most common example of this is "c'è" and "ci sono"- "there is" and "there are". These phrases are usually just taught as units, though, and become second nature, so that's not much fun. Getting used to using it to mean "there" in lieu of a place name, though, is a skill that takes a little work, but is very worthwhile.

Some examples:
"Sei mai stato a Roma?" - Have you ever been to Rome?
"Si, ci sono stato due volte." - Yes, I've been there two times.

"Vai al concerto stasera?" - Are you going to the concert tonight?
"No, non ho voglia di andarci" - No, I don't feel like going there.

When it's not used for a location, it's usually a shortening of "ciò", a small word for "that/it". For example, one very common phrase (that I was going to do as a separate post) is "ci penso io" - "I'll handle it" (though the verb, of course, it's literally "I think"). In this case, "ci" is short for "a ciò". The inversion of "io", putting it on the end, is for dramatic effect. So, we have something like "I'll think to that", meaning "I'll take care of it".

Finally, there's another class of usage where it's mostly just there for sound. This usage is mostly constrained to speaking... so if you're listening to someone speaking and it sounds like they've just thrown in a "ci" for no reason, it's possible they have! One common example of this is with "avere", where it's normal to hear something like "C'ho un amico". I'll talk about this some more in future posts.

All of this might seem a bit confusing, but don't worry - it's not my intention in this post to teach you exactly how to use "ci" correctly all of the time. Instead, I just want to give you a heads up to some very important usages that I don't think are highlighted enough in most Italian courses. As always, please feel free to comment with questions or other uses that you might know of. I think in the next post I'll highlight the most common phrases employing "ci" in a colloquial manner.

Alla prossima...

Riesco a spiegare?

I was talking with someone a while ago, and in discussing my wife (who hasn't studied italian), I said: "ma riesce a capire bene".

The person I was speaking to didn't understand "al volo" (on the fly, right away), so I said "Cioè, può capire un po' di italiano", which they understood immediately.

The thing is, in this case "riesce", coming from riuscire/to succeed, is the more "proper" thing to say in Italian.  

As English speakers, we almost never say "I succeed in doing something", even though that might be what we really mean. We use "can" for nearly everything, ignoring the subtle differences in meaning that can be achieved with other words. I'm always reminded of the classic grammar school situation:

"Mrs. X, can I go to the bathroom???"

"I don't know, can you?"

"Arg! Fine, may I go to the bathroom?"

These nuances exist in Italian as well, it just that they tend to actually use them more, at least in the case of riuscire vs. potere. Riuscire is to succeed or be successful in doing something. Potere, generally, is more about being physically capable of it. It's a style point that takes some getting used to for English speakers, which really just means that it takes practice. I suggest keeping your ears open now that you're aware of it, and looking for examples. Over time, start to critique yourself when you want to use "potere"- are you talking about succeeding in something? If so, you might sound better using "riuscire".

The title of this post is a great example. In english, I would say "Can I explain (...this topic)?". But what I really mean to ask is not whether I can physically explain it, but whether I'll be successful in conveying the information. Therefore, "riesco a spiegare?" is the better way to go.

Allora, ci ho riuscito?