Learn Hardcore Italian: Ci vogliono venti euro per entrare al museo. - It costs twenty euros to enter the museum.

Ci vogliono is an impersonal expression built from the pronoun ci plus the verb volere, meaning “it takes” or “one needs.” Here it doesn’t refer to “us” but introduces a general necessity: Ci vogliono venti euro = “It takes twenty euros.”

Why is the verb vogliono in the third person plural and not singular?

In Italian, verbs agree in number with their grammatical subject. In this impersonal construction the subject is venti euro, which is plural, so you use vogliono. If the amount were singular you’d use vuole.

What role does ci play in ci vogliono?

Here ci is a dummy or impersonal pronoun (often called “locative ci”) that doesn’t point to a person. It simply helps form impersonal or existential phrases like “there is/are” or “it takes.” You could think of it as the “there” in “there are twenty euros needed.”

Why does the sentence use per entrare and not something like a entrare?

To express purpose in Italian you use per + infinitive (“in order to”). A entrare would be ungrammatical in this context. A + infinitive appears only after certain verbs (e.g. cominciare a, imparare a), not to introduce a purpose clause.

Why is it and not or ?