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In everyday spoken Italian, when you want to say you have something "on you," or when you simply want to emphasize possession of a specific item, you will frequently hear the verb **averci** instead of just *avere*.

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### Replacing Singular Nouns: "Ce l'ho"

When you answer a question about an object, you usually replace the noun with a direct object pronoun: *lo* (it, masculine) or *la* (it, feminine). 

When you use *averci*, the particle *ci* changes to **ce** before these pronouns. Furthermore, for singular objects, *lo* and *la* drop their final vowel before forms of *avere* that start with "h", becoming **l'**. 

Therefore, *ce lo ho* and *ce la ho* both become **ce l'ho** (I have it).

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### Replacing Plural Nouns: "Ce li" and "Ce le"

When replacing plural objects, you use the pronouns *li* (them, masculine) and *le* (them, feminine). 

Unlike the singular pronouns, the plurals *li* and *le* **never** drop their vowels. You will write and say them as two distinct words before the verb: **ce li** and **ce le**.

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### Emphasizing Nouns in the Same Sentence

In colloquial Italian, *averci* is so common that speakers often use it even when the object is explicitly named in the exact same sentence. 

While grammatically redundant (you are using both the pronoun "it" and the noun), this pleonastic use adds a casual, natural emphasis, much like asking "Do you have an aspirin *on you*?" in English.

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Notice how the pronoun matches the gender and number of the noun, even though the noun is still right there in the sentence. Here is another example where the noun and pronoun coexist to emphasize who possesses the item:

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Emphatic possession (averci)

adjective

adjective/adverb

adverb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

preposition

pronoun

proper noun

sentence

verb

Definite articles and gender (il, la, l')

Indefinite articles (un, una)

Singular demonstratives (questo, questa)

Basic verbal negation (non)

Yes/No questions

Coordinating conjunctions (e, ma, o)

Regular plurals and definite articles (-i, -e, i, le)

Plural verb to be (noi siamo, voi siete)

Plural demonstratives (questi, queste)

Nouns ending in -e

Special singular articles (lo, l')

The plural article (gli)

Special indefinite articles (uno, un')

Demonstrative adjectives (quello, quella)

Adjective endings (-o, -a, -i, -e)

Expressing quantity (molto, poco, tanto)

The verb to have (ho, hai, ha...)

There is / there are (c'è, ci sono)

The preposition of (di)

Singular possessives (il mio, la mia)

Numbers 1 to 10 (uno, due, tre...)

Numbers 11 to 20 (undici, dodici...)

Numbers 21 to 100 (trenta, quaranta...)

Idiomatic avere (avere fame, avere anni)

Plural possessive adjectives (i miei, le mie)

Possessives with family members (mio padre)

Formal address (dare del Lei)

Present tense of -are verbs (-o, -i, -a)

Question words (chi, cosa, dove)

Present tense of -ere verbs (-o, -i, -e)

Question words (quando, come, perché)

Question word agreement (quanto, quanta, quanti, quante)

Regular -ire verbs

Verbs with -isc- (capisco, capisci, capisce)

Pronouns after prepositions (me, te, lui)

The verb fare (faccio, fai, fa)

The verb andare (vado, vai, va)

The verb stare (sto, stai, sta)

The verb venire (vengo, vieni, viene)

The verb uscire (esco, esci, esce)

Location and destination (a, in)

Origin and movement (da)

Articulated prepositions with a (al, alla)

Articulated prepositions with in (nel, nella)

Articulated prepositions with di and da (del, dal)

Simple prepositions (con, per, su, tra)

Articulated prepositions with su (sul, sulla)

Months of the year

Telling time (sono le...)

Dates (il + number)

Ordinal numbers 1st to 10th (primo, secondo, terzo...)

The verb to want (volere)

The verb can (potere)

The verb must (dovere)

The verb to know (sapere)

Reflexive verbs (mi lavo, ti lavi)

Indirect object pronouns (gli, le, ci...)

Expressing preferences (mi piace)

Plural preferences (mi piacciono)

Comparatives (più... di, meno... di)

The passato prossimo with avere (ho parlato)

Irregular past participles (fatto, letto, preso)

The passato prossimo with essere (sono andato)

Reflexive verbs in the past (mi sono svegliato)

Time adverbs with the past tense (già, mai, ancora)

Third-person direct object pronouns (lo, la, li, le)

First and second-person direct object pronouns (mi, ti, ci, vi)

The four seasons

Prepositions of place (vicino a, davanti a)

Conversational words (beh, allora, davvero)

Indefinite adjectives for some (qualche, alcuni)

Indefinite adjectives for every and all (ogni, tutti)

Indefinite pronouns (qualcosa, qualcuno)

Noun suffixes (-ino, -one)

Adverbs of manner (-mente)

Comparisons of equality (così... come)

The relative superlative (il più)

The absolute superlative (-issimo)

Irregular comparatives (migliore, peggiore)

Present progressive (stare + -ando, -endo)

Imminent actions (stare per)

The locative pronoun (ci)

The partitive pronoun (ne)

Pronoun placement with modal verbs

Impersonal subjects (si)

Prepositions of time (da, per, tra, fra)

Past participle agreement with pronouns

Question	Answer
the tissue	il fazzoletto
to have (emphatic)	averci
Do you have a tissue? Yes, I have it.	Hai un fazzoletto? Sì, ce l'ho.
the lighter (m)	l'accendino
Before smoking, I need a lighter. Do you have it on you?	Prima di fumare, mi serve un accendino. Ce l'hai?
the plaster	il cerotto
The plaster? I don't have it on me.	Il cerotto? Non ce l'ho.
the loose change	lo spicciolo
Do you guys have coins for the coffee? No, we don't have them.	Avete spiccioli per il caffè? No, non ce li abbiamo.
the comb	il pettine
If you are looking for the comb, Maria has it.	Se cerchi il pettine, ce l'ha Maria.
the aspirin (f)	l'aspirina
I have a fever. Do you have an aspirin on you?	Ho la febbre. Ce l'hai un'aspirina?
the membership card	la tessera
The library card? I always have it in the backpack.	La tessera della biblioteca? Ce l'ho sempre nello zaino.
the planner (f)	l'agenda
The new planner? They have it.	L'agenda nuova? Ce l'hanno loro.
the tablet	il tablet
It is three o'clock. The professor has the tablet.	Sono le tre. Il tablet ce l'ha il professore.
The small change? I don't have it on me, but I have a tissue.	Gli spiccioli? Non ce li ho, ma ho un fazzoletto.
I hoped that he would buy a lighter, but he bought a plaster.	Speravo che lui comprasse un accendino, ma ha comprato un cerotto.
I wanted you to bring the comb and the aspirin.	Volevo che tu portassi il pettine e l'aspirina.
Have you already taken the card and the planner? Yes, I have them.	Hai già preso la tessera e l'agenda? Sì, ce le ho.
Let Marco use the tablet. He doesn't have it.	Lascia usare il tablet a Marco. Lui non ce l'ha.

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