To describe what exists in a place, Italian uses c'è (there is) and ci sono (there are). These come from combining the word ci (there) with forms of the verb essere (to be).
C'è (There is)
Use c'è before a singular noun or an uncountable concept (like traffic or time). Notice that it is written with an apostrophe because it is a contraction of ci + è.
| There is a big park in the city. | C'è un parco grande in città. |
| There is a famous square here. | Qui c'è una piazza famosa. |
Ci sono (There are)
When talking about multiple things, use ci sono followed by a plural noun.
| There are many museums downtown. | Ci sono molti musei in centro. |
| There are old trees in that street. | Ci sono alberi vecchi in quella strada. |
Questions and negatives
To ask a question in Italian, you do not need to change the word order. Simply use the exact same words and raise your intonation at the end of the sentence.
| Is there a lot of traffic today? | C'è molto traffico oggi? |
To say "there isn't" or "there aren't", just place the word non immediately before the phrase, creating non c'è or non ci sono.
| There are not many bars here. | Non ci sono molti bar qui. |
| There is no time, the museum is closed! | Non c'è tempo, il museo è chiuso! |
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