9.8 Ci and Ne Pronouns Language Lesson

9.8 Ci and Ne Pronouns
Language & Culture Lessons
Ciao a tutti! E bentornati a Rocket Italiano!
Hello and welcome back!
Last lesson you learned how to express phrases with conditional tense verbs. That will come in handy for expressing
phrases like ‘I would like some gelati please!’ and “I’d go to the park, if it was warmer”.
In Rocket Italian Premium Stage 1 lesson 3.10 we briefly covered nouns and pronouns. Remember that nouns are naming
words like: cat, table, and spoon; and pronouns are words that we use in place of nouns.
For example: “How many cars do you have? I have two of them.” Instead of repeating the word ‘cars’, we refer to ‘of
them’. Basically, pronouns allow us to speak more smoothly, and eliminate needless repetition.
Language Lesson
"Ci" and "Ne" Pronouns
You have already learned about three different types of pronouns:
Subject pronouns: I, you, he, she, we, you, they
Direct object pronouns: me, you, him, it, them, you all, us
Indirect object pronouns: to/for me, to/for them, to/for you, to/for him/her
Today we’re focusing on two short pronouns that do not fall into any of those three categories: ‘ci’ and ‘ne’. These
two pronouns each replace or refer to different things in sentences.
“ne”- refers to people, places, or things previously mentioned in conversation. It could be translated as some of
it/any of it/of it/of them/about him/her/it/them in relation to the sentence. It usually replace a noun or sentence
preceded by a preposition ("di" and "da"). For example:
Hai delle novità?
Do you have any news?
Non ne ho nessuna
I don’t have any of it
“ci” – refers to objects or places that have been previously named. It stands for there, here,about it,of it/them
etc..and it usually it replaces a noun preceded by a prepositions (a, in ,su and con) . For example:
Quando vai dal dottore?
When will you go to the doctor?
Ci vado la prossima settimana.
I will go there next week
Quando vai dal dottore?-When will you go to the doctor?
Nouns out, pronouns in
As you have previously studied, pronouns replace nouns. Now are looking at where to put "ci" and "ne" in our
sentence.
Let’s see some examples of “ci’ and “ne’ in use. You might notice that both are placed before the verb.
Posso parlare con Maria e Roberto? No, non ci sono
Can I speak to Maria and Roberto? No, they are not here
Hai voglia di uscire stasera? Certo, ne ho sempre voglia! Do you want to go out tonight? Of course, I always want
to!
Molto facile, vero? Very easy, right? Now we are going to look closely at each pronoun, and see when it’s best to use
each one.
When to use pronoun “Ci"
Often “ci” replaces the words preceded by the preposition ‘a’ as:
Gianni, pensi al futuro? Sì, ci penso sempre.
Gianni, do you think about the future? Yes, I always think
about it.
“Ci” frequently means ‘there’ as:
A Roberta piace l'America. Dovrà andarci in futuro.
Roberta likes America. She will have to go there in the
future.
"ci" can be found in many traditional Italian sayings (which are impossible to translate!) as:
Rifletterci
To think something over
Ci vuole-ci vogliono
It is necessary (in the singular and plural form)
Vederci
To be able to see
When to use pronoun “Ne"
“Ne” often replaces “di” preposition (“of”) + noun as:
Anna odia i gatti. Ne ha sempre avuto paura.
Anna hates cats. She has always been afraid of them.
“Ne” is used when referring to a quantity of something as:
Ho contato i miei libri. Ne ho troppi!
I've counted my books. I have too many of them.
Sometimes “ne” replaces “some” or “any” as:
Ho finito il pane. Ne hai dell' altro?
I finished the bread. Have you got any more of it?
Attenzione! Rule breakers…
Earlier we learned that when “ci” and “ne” are used, they come before the verb. There are three exceptions to this
rule!
The pronoun does not come before the verb with:
Gerund (verbs ending in -ando and –endo)
“Mangiando” becomes “mangiandone” (eating some of it/them)
Imperative (verbs that express a command or request)
“Non andarci!” (Don't go there!)
“Guardaci dentro!” (Look inside!)
Infinitive (verbs ending in are, ere, ire)
“Arrivare” (to arrive) becomes “Arrivarci” (arriving there)
Imperative/Infinitive Rules
Here are the rules about where to place “ci” and “ne” for the imperative and infinitive exceptions.
Imperative
“Ci” / “ne” attach to the end of the verb. For example:
Prendine un po'
Pensaci
Take a little bit of it
Think about it
Infinitive
Cut the -e off the verb and they attach “ci” or “ne” to it. For example:
Non voglio andarci.
I don't want to go there.
Non voglio assaggiarne delle altre. Ho mangiato troppo! I don't want to taste more of them. I've eaten too much!
Ho mangiato troppo! - I've eaten too much!
Extra Words and Phrases
Uscire a cena fuori
To go out for dinner
Andare a ballare
To go to dance
Andare a vedere uno spettacolo
To go to watch a performance
Andare in discoteca
To go nightclubbing
Andare in enoteca
To go to the wine bar
Andare in pizzeria
To go to the pizzeria
Andare in birreria
To go to the pub
Andare a giocare a biliardo
To go to play pool
Andare a giocare a bowling
To go to play bowling
Vuoi uscire con me?
Do you want to go out with me?
Vuoi andare a bere qualcosa?
Do you want to go to have a drink?
Andare a prendere un gelato
To go to have an ice-cream
Andare a teatro
To go to the theatre
Andare all'opera
To go to the opera
Andare ad un concerto di musica classica
To go to a classical music concert
Guardare la televisione
To watch television
Il ristorante giapponese
The Japanese restaurant
Il ristorante tailandese
The Thai restaurant
Il ristorante cinese
The Chinese restaurant
Il ristorante vegetariano
The vegetarian restaurant
Il ristorante vietnamita
The Vietnamese restaurant
Il ristorante coreano
The Korean restaurant
Una trattoria
A small typical restaurant
Uscire a fare una passeggiata
To go out for a walk
Culture
Going out
One thing that is not unique to Italy is a love of weekends! Just like you do in your home country, the Italians
spend all week looking forward to Friday nights. Entertainment abounds!
The local discoteca (nightclub) is a hot spot with young people where they will dance until exhaustion or sunrise –
whichever comes first! Party-goers that last until sunrise will often go straight from la discoteca to a café for their
cornetto e cappuccino (croissant and cappuccino)!
Cornetto e cappuccino - Croissant and cappuccino!
If clubbing isn’t your scene, perhaps you’d prefer to relax in a restaurant with fine cuisine and a glass of Italian
wine? There is certainly no shortage of fine restaurants around, and many of them provide great food and
atmosphere at a very reasonable price. Here’s a tip: look for the restaurant that is packed with locals – this is where
you want to eat!
If you fancy an even more laid-back evening, you might simply take a stroll and indulge in some famous Italian
gelato.look for the restaurant that is packed with locals – this is where you want to eat!
Well done, you’ve completed another language lesson! In the next lesson we’re going to learn about how nouns can
change depending on whether they are male or female.
Ci vediamo presto ... See you soon!
Maria DiLorenzi
Rocket Italian
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