A reader has written to us to ask about two particles: vi and ci. Many of us are familiar with these particles as personal pronouns, indicating the second person plural and the first person plural, respectively. But let's review and cite some examples. 

Most of the time, at least in conversation, vi refers to the second-person plural object personal pronoun. It can be both direct or indirect. In other words, it's translated as "you" plural, as an object. Let's look at a couple of examples. 

Io quello che vi posso dire è che in campagna si cerca sempre di salvare il salvabile.

What I can tell you is that in the country, you always try to salvage what is salvageable.

Captions 99-100, Imma Tataranni Sostituto procuratore S1 EP2 Come piante fra sassi - Part 22

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Mettetevi qua. -Ma perché?

Put yourselves here. -But why?

Caption 61, Non è mai troppo tardi EP 2 - Part 8

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When there is a direct object pronoun such as lo (it) involved, vi changes to ve. 

Uscite. Ve lo dico io quando potete rientrare.

Come on out. I'll tell [it to] you when you can go in again.

Caption 1, La Ladra EP. 7 - Il piccolo ladro - Part 14

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This is true for all particles in this category. (ci→ce, ti→te, si→se, vi→ve, mi→me).

Ce lo stiamo chiedendo da stamattina.

We've been asking ourselves that since this morning.

Caption 15, I Bastardi di Pizzofalcone S1EP5 Misericordia - Part 4

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See this lesson about ci. It links to another lesson on the same topic. The lesson begins with the meaning referred to above, that of a personal pronoun. But it goes on to talk about ci meaning "in that place," or "there." Here is an example where the particle ci is attached to the root of the infinitive essere (to be).

Devi esserci anche tu.

You have to be there, too.

Caption 44, JAMS S1 EP7 - Part 7

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This could have been Ci devi essere anche tu with the particle separate from the verb. Both ways are correct!

This lesson focuses on ci meaning "there," with examples. Do a search of ci to find even more lessons about this particle. 

If you have gotten this far, with a grasp of ci, then it's time to look at vi. If you are still confused about ci, don't worry. There is a reason there are so many lessons about ci. There is always something new to learn about this pesky little particle.

The next part of the lesson is about a word you might see more than hear, so you can even skip it, but if you are curious, it's good to know about vi meaning "there," even though you will likely never need to actually use it. You can always use ci and it won't be wrong. 

Some grammarians say that vi and ci (when they mean "in that place," or "there") are synonymous, but that vi is more formal. That may be true in many cases, but let's dig a bit deeper. Why would someone use vi instead of ci?

Some scholars posit that vi means "there" but implies a restricted space, whereas ci is more generalized. In other words, vi refers to a precise destination, whereas ci can refer to anywhere. 

One interesting detail is that vi derives from the Latin "ibi" → "there"; ci derives from "ecce hic" → "behold here."

In Calabria vi sono due isole: una è l'Isola Dino, che è la più grande, come ho detto prima e l'altra invece è la [sic]... Isola di Cirella, che è un po' più a sud,

In Calabria, there are two islands: one is Dino Island, which is the biggest, as I said before and the other, instead, is the [sic]... Cirella Island, which is a bit further south,

Captions 27-29, Antonio e l'Isola di Dino

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The speaker could have used ci. But here he is getting specific, referring to Calabria, so vi works, too. In the next example, once again, the speaker (who, in this case, is the teacher) is talking about a specific language (Italian), so vi is appropriate but not necessary.

In both examples, the language is more formal than in everyday conversation. In the first example, someone is providing some factual information about Calabria. In the second example, a teacher is using somewhat formal language with his students. The movie the clip is from takes place in the 1960s which might be another reason for vi in place of ci. 

Nella nostra amata lingua, vi sono molte parole che iniziano con la "o"...

In our beloved language, there are many words that begin with O...

Captions 49-50, Non è mai troppo tardi EP 2 - Part 11

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If you do a quick search of vi sono on the videos page, you will find examples where the meaning is totally different. So context matters. In the following example, vi refers to "you" plural, and sono is the first person singular of the verb essere (to be). 

Vi sono mancato un po'? -Sì.

Did you miss me a little? -Yes.

Caption 48, Non è mai troppo tardi EP 2 - Part 8

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One related word you might see on a listino prezzi (price list) for a hotel or other accommodation as you travel in Italy is ivi. It means therein, so you might see something like: Pernottamento ivi compreso la prima colazione (overnight stay including breakfast)

For interested learners, here is an article delving into the difference between vi and ci. It's in English. CUNY article 

We hope to have cleared up some doubts about vi and ci! You can write to us at [email protected].

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