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Un vecchio proverbio dice: chi cerca trova.

Un vecchio proverbio dice: chi cerca trova.
An old proverb says: those who search find.
From Lesson 172:The people who (chi)·Italian

Questions & Answers about Un vecchio proverbio dice: chi cerca trova.

Why do cerca and trova use the singular "he/she/it" form when the translation says "those who"?
In Italian, the relative pronoun chi is always grammatically singular when it means "whoever" or "the people who". You must conjugate the verbs that follow it in the third-person singular, even if you are referring to a plural group of people in English.
How does chi act as the subject for both cerca and trova?
Chi bundles "the person" and "who" into one word. In this sentence, it acts as the subject of the first verb (cerca) and carries over to be the subject of the second verb (trova). You don't need to add another pronoun before the second verb; it literally means "Whoever searches, finds."
Why is the adjective vecchio placed before proverbio instead of after it?
Most descriptive adjectives in Italian go after the noun, but certain common adjectives detailing age, size, or beauty—like vecchio (old)—usually come before the noun. This is a great rule of thumb to remember from earlier levels!
Is chi cerca trova a set phrase in Italian?
Yes, it is a very famous Italian proverb, equivalent to the English "seek and ye shall find." You will see chi used exactly this way at the beginning of many Italian sayings to state general rules about life.

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