You already know that c'è and ci sono mean "there is" and "there are," and that the pronoun ne means "of it" or "of them" when talking about quantities. To say "there are [a certain amount] of them," we combine the two.
The Combined Clitic Ce Ne
When the clitic ci is placed directly before ne, its vowel changes from i to e, creating the cluster ce ne.
| there is/are some of it/them | ce ne |
This cluster is useful when taking inventory or avoiding repeating a noun you've just mentioned.
| We do the inventory to see how many of them there are. | Facciamo l'inventario per vedere quanti ce ne sono. |
Expressing Quantities
Ce ne is usually paired with the verb essere (to be) and a word that expresses a quantity, such as a number, molti (many), troppi (too many), alcuni (some), abbastanza (enough), or pochi (few).
| Can you manage to load these packages on the cart, or are there too many of them? | Riesci a caricare questi pacchi sul carrello, o ce ne sono troppi? |
| Unfortunately, there are many of them in this defective batch. | Purtroppo ce ne sono molti in questo lotto difettoso. |
Notice how the verb essere agrees with the quantity. Because molti, troppi, and alcuni are plural, we use the plural verb sono (ce ne sono - "there are of them").
| In that department there are no more large boxes, but here there are some of them. | In quel reparto non ci sono più scatoloni, ma qui ce ne sono alcuni. |
Negative Quantities
If the quantity is zero, place non before the cluster to say "there are none" or "there are no more" (non ce ne sono più).
| Everyone looks for a cart in the department, but there are no more of them. | Ognuno cerca un carrello nel reparto, ma non ce ne sono più. |