C’è un’emergenza all’ospedale.

to be

Breakdown of C’è un’emergenza all’ospedale.

• a: at
• ci: there
• l’emergenza: the emergency

Questions & Answers about C’è un’emergenza all’ospedale.

Why is there an apostrophe in C’è?

C’è is a contraction of ci (the existential particle meaning there) + è (third-person singular of essere, is). The apostrophe marks that fusion. Without it you would spell cie, which is incorrect.

What’s the difference between c’è and ce?

c’è (with accent and apostrophe) means there is. ce (no accent) is a clitic pronoun used in other contexts (for example ce l’ho (I have it)). The accent and apostrophe distinguish the existential expression from the pronoun.

Why is è spelled with an accent, and how do I type it?

The grave accent on è indicates it is the verb is, not the conjunction e (and). To type è on Windows use Alt+0232, on Mac use Option+` then e, or long-press e on a smartphone.

Why do we say un’emergenza instead of una emergenza?