Town, Region and Country

One, or more than one?

English has one phrase for this and uses it everywhere: there is a park, there are two shops. Fine - except you barely notice the change. Italian makes you notice. It has two different expressions, and choosing between them is the first thing you do when describing your town. Better still, the choice runs on the plural rule you already know, so this is that rule earning its keep rather than a new one to learn.

Where you live

Four words to learn, plus three that are nearly free: la città (the city), la regione (the region) and il parco (the park).

Match each word to its meaning

Two words for "there is"

c'è goes with one thing. ci sono goes with more than one. c'è un parco - there is a park. ci sono due negozi - there are two shops. And notice what the choice depends on. You cannot pick one without knowing whether the noun is singular or plural - which is the rule you met with il becoming i and la becoming le. This is that rule doing a job. One exception worth knowing now: la città does not change in the plural. One is la città and several are le città, so only the article tells you which is meant - and therefore whether you need c'è or ci sono.

Which is right?

How do you say "there are two shops"?

• ci sono due negozi
• c'è due negozi
• c'è un negozio
• sono due negozi

The rule

Italian has two ways to say there is or there are. Use _____ with a single thing and _____ with more than one. So "there are two shops" is _____. Choosing between them depends on the _____ rule you already know. And one word to watch: la città does not change, so several of them are le _____.

What would have to change?

Here is a short sentence about a neighbourhood. Tap the part that would have to change if there were two parks instead of one.

• Qui
• c'è un parco
• e
• ci sono due negozi
• .

Order them by size

Put these four places in order, smallest first.

• la via - street
• il quartiere - neighbourhood
• la città - city
• la regione - region

Which are correct?

Select the TWO correct sentences.

• c'è una via molto lunga
• ci sono tre negozi
• c'è tre negozi
• ci sono un parco

Describe your town

Three moments while describing where you live.

• You want to say there is one park in your neighbourhood. Which do you use?
• You want to say there are many shops. What do you need to check first?
• You read "il mio paese è piccolo" and are unsure whether it means village or country.

One, or several

The same sentence shape, with the only difference being how many there are.

City, street and shop in Italian

A city is _____ and a neighbourhood is _____. A street is _____ and a shop is _____. To describe what is in your town, use c'è for one thing and _____ for more than one.

Tocca a te

Scrivi in italiano: com'è il tuo quartiere? Write a short description in Italian of the area where you live.

• Say whether you live in una città, un paese or un quartiere
• Use c'è at least twice, for things there is one of
• Use ci sono at least twice, for things there are several of
• Finish by saying what your area does not have, and what you would like it to have