B2 · Fine points and style
The set phrases with ci and ne
Six of the commonest sentences in the language, and none of them can be taken apart.
At a glance
- Remember
- What is needed is the subject.
- Form
- ci vuole tempoit takes time
- Signal words
- ci vuole
- ci vogliono
- ce l’ho
- non ne posso più
- c’entra
- Trap
- Wrong:Ci vuole due ore per arrivare.Right:Ci vogliono due ore per arrivare.
Your turn
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The form
How the forms are built
Each row gives the meaning first, then the form in Italian. The colours show what changes from one form to the next.
stem (regular) stem (irregular) person ending negation
| it takes time | ci vuole tempo |
| it takes two hours | ci vogliono due ore |
| I have got it | ce l’ho |
| I cannot go on | non ne posso più |
| I will see to it | ci penso io |
| that has nothing to do with it | non c’entra niente |
| I have got it | (io) ce l’ho |
| you have got it | (tu) ce l’hai |
| he / she has got it | (lui, lei) ce l’ha |
| we have got it | (noi) ce l’abbiamo |
| you have got it (plural) | (voi) ce l’avete |
| they have got it | (loro) ce l’hanno |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is aboutThe word that calls for it
ci vuole follows the thing that is needed.
Ci vogliono due ore per arrivare.It takes two hours to get there.
ci becomes ce in front of another pronoun.
Hai il biglietto? Sì, ce l’ho.Have you got the ticket? Yes, I have.
ne appears in the fixed phrases of having had enough.
Non ne posso più di questo rumore.I cannot stand this noise any more.
c'entra denies a connection.
Questo non c’entra con il problema.That has nothing to do with the problem.
Example sentences
Ci vuole pazienza con questi moduli.These forms take patience.
Le chiavi? Ce le ho io.The keys? I have got them.
Non preoccuparti, ci penso io.Do not worry, I will see to it.
Che c’entra adesso questa storia?What has that got to do with anything?
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
« It takes two hours » has « it » for a subject, and « it » is never plural. Ci vuole has no « it » at all: the subject is the thing needed, so two hours make the verb plural — ci vogliono due ore. English hides the subject in a dummy word at the front; Italian leaves it in plain sight at the end, and the verb answers to it.
The full explanation
Read it all · about 1 min
A handful of the most frequent Italian sentences are built from ci or ne plus a verb, and together they mean something neither half says. Looking up the parts is how you end up with a translation that is word-perfect and wrong.
Ci vuole means « it takes »: ci vuole tempo, ci vogliono due ore. It follows the thing needed, which is why two hours make it vogliono.
Ce l'ho means « I have got it ». Ci becomes ce in front of another pronoun, and without the l' there is no sentence: to hai il biglietto? the answer is sì, ce l'ho, never sì, ho. English can answer with the bare verb — « Yes, I have » — and Italian cannot.
Non ne posso piùis « I cannot go on »ci stois « I am in »ci penso iois « I will see to it »non c'entrais « that has nothing to do with it » All four are fixed, and all four are used constantly.
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The verbs on this page, in every form: avere · volere · entrare · arrivare · potere · pensare