The Particles Ci and Ne

The uses of ci
The uses of ne
Putting ci and ne together

The misery of ci and ne: two small words to mess with your world

No sooner are you on your way to learning Italian when you meet these two trolls guarding the bridge to your success. These two pests can take up shop next to the subjunctive, and the rules for the the use of the imperfect as one of the most frustrating aspects of learning Italian. However, as with any difficult subject, with a significant amount of commitment and attention you can master it.

Summary:

First off ... What's a particle?

You may not have heard of particles because they don't really fall into any of the traditional categories of parts of speech. Basically, particles are small words that have little to no meaning on their own and don't change in form. An example of a particle in English is the to paired with an infinitive, as in to fall. The particle doesn't have any function other than its attachment to the verb in the infinitive.

A 30 second summary of ci and ne

ci from latin hic there and ne from inde from there

If I were forced to summarize the uses of ci and ne in 30 seconds, I would say the following:

ci and ne replace prepositional phrases...

1. If you are replacing a phrase introduced by a, you can use ci:

Sei mai andato ~~a Firenze~~? Non ci sono mai andato.

2. If you are replacing a phrase introduced by di, you use ne:

Hai bisogno ~~di una macchina~~ ? Non ne ho bisogno.

In truth, this would be correct 90% of the time (not an actual statistic). So if you walked away at this moment, you would be correct most of the time. What is presented in the remainder of this page is a far more nuanced explanation of the rules that govern ci and ne.

The uses of ci

One reason that ci can be troublesome is it can be confused with a few other unrelated categories of words. You may be familiar with the ci meaning us or to us from the direct and indirect object pronouns respectively. There is also the ci used in the first person plural (noi form) when conjugating reflexive verbs (e.g. ci trasferiamo) and reciprocal verbs (e.g. ci telefoniamo). One has to use context and logic to tell all of these instances of ci apart from each other.

Aside from these pronominal uses of ci, the particle ci has a very different meaning. Watch the following video to learn the uses of this word. At the end of the video there are exercises to reinforce what you've learned. Further down the page there are notes on the use of ci.

Here is the video lesson on the uses of ci:

Notes on the use of the particle ci:

When referring to motion towards a location or location in which. It often replaces a place previously mentioned in a prepositional phrase with a or in; for example:

Sono andato a Firenze l'anno scorso e vorrei ritornarci.

I went to Florence last year and I would like to return there.

Domani torno in città. Ci vieni anche tu?

I'm returning to the city tomorrow. Are you coming (there) too?

A che ora vai da tua nonna? Di solito ci vado alle 8.00.*

When do you go to your grandmother's house? Usually I go there at 8.00.*

*An expression with da can also be substituted when the sense is that of a location or motion towards.

**ci is often used with the following verbs: andare, venire, stare, rimanere, restare, as these verbs are often linked to a prepositional phrase dealing with locations.

Ci can replace a prepositional phrase introduced with a, in or su*

Posso contare sul tuo aiuto? Certo, puoi contarci.

Can I count on your help? Of course, you can count on it.

Sei riuscito a fare gli esercizi? No, non ci sono riuscito.

Did you manage to do the exercises? No, I didn't (manage to do them)

*This often occurs with the following verbs: pensare (a), credere (in/a), riuscire (a), contare (su)

Certain idiomatic verbs employ ci without referring to a location or replacing a phrase.

The following verbs all use ci as an integral part of their construction:

Idiomatic verbs that use 'ci'

Verb	Definition	Example	Meaning
avercela*	to be angry with	Ce l'ha con me	he/she is angry with me
capirci	to understand something	Non ci capisco niente	I don't understand anything
cascarci	to fall for it	Ci sei cascato	you fell for it
entrarci	to have something to do with	Cosa c'entra?	What's that got to do with anything?
esserci	be (there)	Ci sono due studenti	There are two students
farcela*	to manage, succeed	Non ce la faccio più	I can't take it anymore
metterci	to take (time)	Ci mette due ore per prepararsi	he/she takes two hours to get ready
mettercela tutta*	to do one's best	Ce l'ho messa tutta	I did my best
prenderci gusto	to develop a taste	Da bambino non mi piaceva il senape, ma adesso ci prendo gusto a mangiarlo.	As a child I didn't like mustard, but now I'm starting to like it.
saperci fare	to be good at something	Ci so fare	I'm good at it
sentirci	to hear well	Non ci sento da quell'orecchio	I don't hear well out of that ear
starci	to agree with	io ci sto	I agree
tenerci	to mean a lot	Ci tengo molto a vedere quel film	It means a lot to me to see that movie
vederci	to see	Ci vedo bene	I see well
volerci	to require/need	Ci vuole un albero	you need a tree

*As with double object pronouns when 'ci' is combined with another pronoun (here 'la') the ci changes to 'ce'

The uses of ne

The particle ne is similar to ci in that it also replaces a prepositional phrase. Watch the following video to learn the uses of this word. At the end of the video there are exercises to reinforce what you've learned. Further down the page there are notes on the use of ne.

Here is a video how to use ne:

*There are exercises at the end of the video to reinforce what you have learned.

Notes on the use of ne:

Ne commonly replaces a partitive (a term referring to a part of a whole: i.e. a slice of bread.)

Vuoi ancora del vino? Sì, ne vorrei ancora.

Do you want some more wine? Yes, I would like some more of it.

Quanti fratelli hai? Ne ho due.

How many brothers do you have? I have two (of them).

Quanti ne abbiamo oggi? Oggi ne abbiamo 23. (Idiomatic expression)

What is the date today? (lit. How many of them (days) do we have?) Today's the 23rd.

Ne replaces a prepositional phrase introduced by di.

Hai dimenticato di fare i compiti? Sì ne ho dimenticato.

Did you forget to do the homework? I forgot about it.

Non sa niente delle vite degli altri. Non ne sa niente.

He knows nothing of other peoples' lives. He knows nothing of that.

Ne can replace a prepositional phrase introduced by da and involving motion away from a location.

Sono tornato dal centro commerciale. Non ne sono tornato contento, perché c'era troppa gente.

I returned from the mall. I didn't return (from there) happy, because there were too many people.

The following verbs all use ne as an integral part of their construction:

Idiomatic verbs & expressions that use 'ne'

Verb	Definition	Example	Meaning
andarsene	to leave	Me ne vado	I'm leaving
averne fin sopra i capelli	to have it up to here (fig.)	Ne ho fin sopra i capelli!	I've had it up to here!
fregarsene*	to not give a damn	Non me ne frega niente	I don't give a damn
importarsene	to not care	Non me ne importa	I don't care about that
infischiarsene*	to not give a damn	Francamente me ne infischio	Frankly, I don't give a damn
non poterne più	to not be able to manage	Non ne posso più	I can't do it anymore
starsene	to hang around	Stasera me ne sto a casa	Tonight I'm hanging out at home
valerne la pena	to be worth it	Ne vale la pena	It's worth it

*colloquial; not for formal situations