🔍 In short. The italian c’è chi dice pattern is the everyday Italian way to report what some unnamed people say, think, claim or deny: c’è chi dice (some say), c’è chi pensa (some think), c’è chi sostiene (some maintain), c’è chi nega (some deny). Grammatically the verb stays in the singular (c’è + singular chi + singular verb), but the meaning is plural and deliberately vague: you’re flagging a position without committing to it and without naming a source. Italian newsrooms, opinion pieces and bar arguments live on this frame.
This B2 guide walks through the form, the meaning, the cousins (alcuni dicono, secondo alcuni, si dice che), the choice between indicativo and congiuntivo, the negative version, and the journalistic register. There’s a redazione dialogue in Pescara, a cheat sheet, two mini-tasks and a quiz.
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👆🏻 Jump to section
- What italian c’è chi dice really does
- The form: singular verb, plural meaning
- The verbs that follow: dice, pensa, sostiene, nega
- Cousins: alcuni dicono, secondo alcuni, si dice che
- Indicativo or congiuntivo after c’è chi?
- Building contrast: c’è chi… e c’è chi…
- The negative twist: c’è chi non…
- Register: from headline to bar talk
- Cheat sheet: c’è chi at a glance
- Dialog: in a Pescara redazione
- Mini-challenge
- Frequently asked questions
- Related guides
What italian c’è chi dice really does
Open the politics section of il Corriere or la Repubblica on any morning and within three columns the italian c’è chi dice pattern surfaces: c’è chi dice che la riforma slitterà a settembre, c’è chi pensa che il governo non arrivi a Natale, c’è chi sostiene il contrario. It’s the most Italian way to put a claim on the page without putting a name behind it. You hear it in editorials, in opinion pieces, in talk-show debates, and the next minute you hear it at a bar in Pescara about the weather, the mayor, or the new bike lane on viale Bovio.
What does the frame add? Three things at once. First, it tells the reader that more than one person holds the view (the meaning is plural). Second, it makes the source vague on purpose (no name, no count). Third, it leaves the writer or speaker slightly to one side: you’re reporting the position, not endorsing it. That triple effect is hard to get with any single English word, which is why translators often unfold it into some say, some people argue, there are those who claim.
- C’è chi dice che la stagione turistica a Pescara parta in ritardo quest’anno.
Some say the tourist season in Pescara is starting late this year. - C’è chi pensa che il sindaco non si ricandiderà.
Some think the mayor won’t run again. - C’è chi sostiene che la pedonalizzazione del lungomare faccia bene al commercio.
Some maintain that pedestrianising the seafront is good for business.
The form: singular verb, plural meaning
The mechanics are simple but counter-intuitive for an English speaker. Chi is a free relative pronoun, meaning la persona che or le persone che. It is always grammatically singular, no matter how many people you have in mind. C’è agrees with that singular chi, and the verb inside the relative clause also stays singular.
- C’è chi dice… ✓ (not ci sono chi dicono)
Some say… (literally: there is who says) - C’è chi pensa che… ✓
Some think that… - C’è chi non ci crede. ✓
Some don’t believe it.
Even if the speaker has a roomful of people in mind, the form does not budge to the plural. This contrasts with alcuni dicono (alcuni is plural, the verb is plural) and with molti pensano (molti is plural, the verb is plural). The italian c’è chi dice frame keeps everything in the singular and lets context do the multiplication.
🔍 Quick rule. Chi is always singular, even when it stands for many people. So c’è chi crede, never ci sono chi credono. If you want a plural agreement, switch the construction to alcuni credono or ci sono persone che credono.
The verbs that follow: dice, pensa, sostiene, nega
Almost any verb can follow c’è chi, but a small cluster does most of the heavy lifting when the frame works as a reportive device. These are the verbs of saying, thinking, claiming, doubting and denying. Knowing the pack lets you pick the right shade of meaning instead of always falling back on dice.
- c’è chi dice: neutral report, no commitment. C’è chi dice che le piogge di maggio rovineranno la stagione.
- c’è chi pensa: opinion, less assertive than dice. C’è chi pensa che la nuova rubrica gastronomica funzioni.
- c’è chi crede: belief, often a long-held one. C’è chi crede ancora che i lettori sotto i trent’anni leggano la carta.
- c’è chi sostiene: strong claim, with arguments behind it. C’è chi sostiene che la pedonalizzazione del lungomare salverà il commercio.
- c’è chi afferma: formal, written register. C’è chi afferma il contrario.
- c’è chi nega: denial, often direct rebuttal. C’è chi nega che la spiaggia di Pescara abbia mai avuto problemi di erosione.
- c’è chi dubita: doubt rather than denial. C’è chi dubita che il progetto parta in tempo.
- c’è chi giura: colloquial, swears blind. C’è chi giura di aver visto il sindaco al mercato di piazza Salotto.
Notice the small change with verbs like giurare: instead of che + clause, you often get di + infinitive when the subject is the same as chi (c’è chi giura di aver visto). This is normal Italian behaviour with verbs that take di + infinito; the c’è chi frame doesn’t change the verb’s own grammar.
Cousins: alcuni dicono, secondo alcuni, si dice che
Italian has at least four ways to attribute a claim to a vague source. They overlap a lot, but each has its sweet spot. Pick by feel of the register and by how much you want to individuate the source.
- c’è chi dice: vague, journalistic, slightly punchier; presents the position as one of several. Fits headlines, opinion pieces, debates.
C’è chi dice che la riforma non passerà. - alcuni dicono: also vague but more individuated; suggests a countable, if unnamed, group. Neutral register.
Alcuni dicono che la riforma non passerà. - secondo alcuni: the closest to English according to some; most journalistic of the four, very common in news copy.
Secondo alcuni, la riforma non passerà. - si dice che: pure impersonal, no agent visible at all; lands closer to it is said or rumour has it.
Si dice che la riforma non passerà.
The shades matter. A reporter wanting to flag a minority view without naming the holders will lean on c’è chi or secondo alcuni. A speaker repeating gossip will reach for si dice che. A politician building a contrast will set up c’è chi pensa A, c’è chi pensa B and let the audience watch the seesaw. In the c’è chi frame, the singular verb keeps the focus on positions rather than on people: it’s the view that matters, not the headcount.
Indicativo or congiuntivo after c’è chi?
The mood of the verb after the che-clause depends on what kind of claim you’re reporting. The Italian system is consistent: indicative for stated facts, subjunctive when the claim is presented as opinion, hypothesis or something the writer keeps at arm’s length. The italian c’è chi dice frame inherits this logic and gives you a fine dial to express how much weight you grant the position.
- C’è chi dice che il sindaco ha già firmato l’ordinanza. (indicativo: presented as a fact)
- C’è chi dice che il sindaco abbia già firmato l’ordinanza. (congiuntivo: presented as a claim the writer doesn’t vouch for)
- C’è chi pensa che la riforma passi in autunno. (opinion → congiuntivo)
- C’è chi sostiene che la pedonalizzazione danneggi i negozi. (claim, debated → congiuntivo)
- C’è chi giura che è stata Concetta a chiamare. (swearing it’s a fact → indicativo)
Two patterns to remember. After pensare, credere, sostenere, dubitare, Italian strongly prefers the congiuntivo: these are quintessential opinion verbs. After dire, affermare, giurare the choice is open and tracks the meaning: indicativo for stated fact, congiuntivo for distanced report. After negare, the congiuntivo is the standard: c’è chi nega che il problema esista.
🎯 Mini-task #1. Indicativo or congiuntivo? Choose the form that fits the meaning suggested in brackets.
- C’è chi pensa che la stagione (parta / parte) in ritardo. (opinion)
- C’è chi giura che ieri Vito (è / sia) andato in redazione alle sei. (swearing it’s true)
- C’è chi nega che a Pescara (c’è / ci sia) un vero problema di erosione. (denial)
- C’è chi sostiene che la nuova rubrica (funziona / funzioni). (claim, debated)
- C’è chi dice che il direttore (ha / abbia) già scelto il titolo. (distanced report)
👉 Show answers
1. parta · 2. è · 3. ci sia · 4. funzioni · 5. abbia (or “ha” if you want to commit to it as a fact).
Building contrast: c’è chi… e c’è chi…
The frame really shines when you stack two of them in parallel to draw a contrast. C’è chi pensa A, c’è chi pensa B is a rhetorical workhorse in Italian: editorials use it to set up a debate, talk shows use it to introduce two camps, and friends use it to describe how a town is split on a question. The structure has its own neat rhythm and reads as balanced and fair-handed.
- C’è chi vuole la pedonalizzazione totale del lungomare, c’è chi la vuole solo nei weekend.
Some want the seafront fully pedestrianised, others want it only on weekends. - C’è chi legge ancora la carta, c’è chi è passato al digitale da anni.
Some still read the print edition, others switched to digital years ago. - C’è chi sostiene che la pioggia abbia rovinato la stagione, c’è chi sostiene che maggio sia sempre stato così.
Some claim the rain has ruined the season, others claim May has always been like this.
Variations are common: c’è chi… e chi… drops the second c’è for a tighter phrasing (c’è chi viene e chi va); c’è chi vorrebbe… c’è chi preferirebbe… uses the conditional to soften both positions. The italian c’è chi dice pattern is flexible enough to host all of these without losing its reportive flavour.
The negative twist: c’è chi non…
Italian is happy to put the negation inside the relative clause: c’è chi non ci crede, c’è chi non vuole sentire ragioni, c’è chi non si è mai abituato. The frame stays the same; only the embedded verb is negated. This is the cleanest way to report a refusal or a non-belief without naming the refusers.
- C’è chi non legge più i giornali da quando è nato Internet.
Some people haven’t read newspapers since the Internet came along. - C’è chi non si fida delle previsioni meteo del weekend.
Some don’t trust the weekend weather forecasts. - C’è chi non vuole sentir parlare di pedonalizzazione del lungomare.
Some don’t even want to hear about pedestrianising the seafront.
The construction non c’è chi exists too, but it means something different: non c’è chi non lo sappia = there’s nobody who doesn’t know it, a double-negative emphatic way to say everybody knows it. Useful, but rarer; don’t confuse it with the standard c’è chi non.
Register: from headline to bar talk
The italian c’è chi dice pattern is genuinely register-flexible. The same six words sit comfortably in a Corriere editorial and in a chat over an espresso. What changes is the verb you pick after chi and the topic of the claim. In print journalism, expect sostiene, afferma, ritiene; in spoken Italian, expect dice, pensa, giura. The Accademia della Crusca and Treccani both use the frame in their language counsel as a way to introduce a usage that some speakers favour without endorsing it.
One tonal nuance: c’è chi can carry a hint of irony depending on context. C’è chi crede ancora che la carta vincerà il digitale reads as a polite eye-roll. The writer is reporting the belief while subtly signalling that they don’t share it. Italian uses this trick a lot. If you mean to flag the position straight, no irony, pair the frame with a neutral verb (dice, pensa) and let context carry the rest.
Cheat sheet: c’è chi at a glance
One table, the whole pattern. Keep it open while you build your next sentence with italian c’è chi dice and its cousins.
| Function | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Neutral report | c’è chi dice | C’è chi dice che la stagione parta in ritardo. |
| Opinion | c’è chi pensa / crede | C’è chi pensa che la nuova rubrica funzioni. |
| Strong claim | c’è chi sostiene / afferma | C’è chi sostiene che la pedonalizzazione salverà i negozi. |
| Denial | c’è chi nega | C’è chi nega che il problema esista. |
| Colloquial swear | c’è chi giura (di + inf.) | C’è chi giura di aver visto il sindaco al mercato. |
| Contrast | c’è chi A, c’è chi B | C’è chi vuole la ZTL, c’è chi non la vuole. |
| Negation inside | c’è chi non… | C’è chi non legge più i giornali. |
| Mood: stated fact | indicativo | C’è chi dice che ha firmato. |
| Mood: distanced report | congiuntivo | C’è chi dice che abbia firmato. |
| Cousin: more individuated | alcuni dicono | Alcuni dicono che la riforma non passerà. |
| Cousin: most journalistic | secondo alcuni | Secondo alcuni la riforma non passerà. |
| Cousin: pure impersonal | si dice che | Si dice che la riforma non passerà. |
🎯 Mini-task #2. Rewrite each sentence using c’è chi + the suggested verb.
- Some people maintain the seafront should be fully pedestrianised. (sostenere)
- Some still believe newspapers will survive the digital shift. (credere)
- Some swear they saw Concetta at the redazione at six in the morning. (giurare di + inf.)
- Some deny that May has been rainier than usual this year. (negare)
- Some don’t trust the new editorial line. (non si fida)
👉 Show answers
1. C’è chi sostiene che il lungomare debba essere pedonalizzato del tutto. · 2. C’è chi crede ancora che i giornali sopravvivranno al digitale. · 3. C’è chi giura di aver visto Concetta in redazione alle sei del mattino. · 4. C’è chi nega che maggio sia stato più piovoso del solito quest’anno. · 5. C’è chi non si fida della nuova linea editoriale.
Dialog: in a Pescara redazione
Concetta and Vito work in the editorial office of a local Pescara newspaper. It’s Tuesday afternoon, the front page for tomorrow is half-empty, and they’re arguing about which story leads. Watch how often they reach for c’è chi and its cousins to introduce positions without naming sources.
👩🏽🦱 Concetta: Vito, ti dico la verità, in redazione c’è chi mormora che il pezzo sulla pedonalizzazione del lungomare non vada in prima. Troppo locale, dicono.
👨🏼🦰 Vito: Locale è il nostro mestiere. C’è chi pensa ancora che le notizie nazionali vendano più copie a Pescara? Sbagliano da vent’anni.
👩🏽🦱 Concetta: C’è chi dice che il direttore abbia già scelto il titolo. Un sopratitolo politico, un titolo morbido, due foto del porto.
👨🏼🦰 Vito: E c’è chi giura di averlo sentito parlare con l’assessore stamattina. Voci, però. Niente di scritto.
👩🏽🦱 Concetta: Comunque, sul commercio del lungomare c’è chi sostiene che pedonalizzare salvi i negozi, c’è chi sostiene il contrario. Dobbiamo dare spazio a entrambe le voci.
👨🏼🦰 Vito: D’accordo. Però attenzione: c’è chi nega che ci sia un vero problema di erosione, e quelli sono i soliti tre. Non perderei mezza colonna per loro.
👩🏽🦱 Concetta: Tre o trenta, contano lo stesso se firmano. Sulla stagione turistica, intanto, c’è chi dice che parta in ritardo, c’è chi dice che maggio sia sempre stato così. Statistiche reali, non sensazioni.
👨🏼🦰 Vito: Bene, allora rovesciamo l’apertura: in alto la pedonalizzazione, spalla a destra le presenze turistiche con i numeri della Camera di Commercio, taglio basso l’erosione con la voce critica. C’è chi non sarà contento.
👩🏽🦱 Concetta: C’è sempre chi non è contento, Vito. Io chiudo il pezzo entro le sette, tu prendi le foto?
👨🏼🦰 Vito: Le ho già scelte. C’è chi vuole una foto del lungomare vuoto, io ne ho una dell’alba con tre pescatori. Più viva.
Count the frames: c’è chi mormora, c’è chi pensa, c’è chi dice, c’è chi giura, c’è chi sostiene (twice), c’è chi nega, c’è chi dice (twice), c’è chi non sarà contento, c’è sempre chi non è contento, c’è chi vuole. A two-minute newsroom argument exercises the whole italian c’è chi dice family. Notice how Concetta and Vito vary the verb to match the position they’re reporting: mormora for whispered rumour, giura for sworn-blind hearsay, sostiene for argued claim, nega for denial.
Mini-challenge
🎯 Final challenge. Pick a debate from your own city or town (a new bike lane, a school closure, a market that’s moving) and write five sentences using a different verb after c’è chi each time: one with dice, one with pensa, one with sostiene, one with nega, one negative (c’è chi non…). Use indicativo when you want to present the claim as a fact, congiuntivo when you want to keep your distance. Read it out loud once and notice how the rhythm of the frame builds a balanced two-sided picture.
Test your understanding
Take the quiz below to test what you’ve learned about italian c’è chi dice and its reportive cousins.
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Frequently asked questions
Six questions about italian c’è chi dice that come up in B2 classes and in real newsroom conversations. The free-relative behaviour of chi is documented in the Treccani vocabolario entry on chi, and the Accademia della Crusca uses the same frame in many of its language-counsel pieces.
What’s the difference between c’è chi dice and alcuni dicono?
Both are vague-source frames, but they have different feel. C’è chi dice is grammatically singular (c’è + singular chi + singular verb), more journalistic, and slightly punchier; it presents one position out of several and lends itself to contrast (c’è chi pensa A, c’è chi pensa B). Alcuni dicono is plural and more individuated: it suggests a countable, if unnamed, group of people. In a Corriere headline you’re more likely to see c’è chi; in neutral prose alcuni dicono fits anywhere. Both are correct and current.
Is c’è chi singular or plural?
Grammatically singular. Chi is a free relative pronoun meaning la persona che or, by extension, le persone che, but it always takes a singular verb: c’è chi dice, c’è chi pensa, c’è chi crede. You never say ci sono chi dicono. The meaning is plural (more than one person), but the form is rigorously singular. If you need plural agreement, switch the construction: alcuni credono, molti pensano, ci sono persone che credono.
After c’è chi, do I use indicativo or congiuntivo?
It depends on what kind of claim you’re reporting and which verb sits before. After pensare, credere, sostenere, dubitare, negare, Italian strongly prefers congiuntivo: c’è chi pensa che la stagione parta in ritardo. After dire, affermare, giurare, the choice is open and tracks meaning: indicativo for stated fact (c’è chi dice che il sindaco ha firmato), congiuntivo for distanced report (c’è chi dice che il sindaco abbia firmato). The mood you choose tells the reader how much weight you give the claim.
Can c’è chi dice be used in formal writing?
Yes, it’s at home in every register from a Crusca consultation to an editorial in il Corriere della Sera. Print journalism leans on c’è chi sostiene, c’è chi afferma, c’è chi ritiene; spoken Italian uses c’è chi dice, c’è chi pensa, c’è chi giura. The frame is neutral about formality: what changes the register is the verb you slot in after chi and the kind of claim you’re reporting.
What does non c’è chi mean? Is it the same as c’è chi non?
No, the two are different. C’è chi non + verb is the standard pattern with negation inside the relative clause: c’è chi non legge più i giornali means some people no longer read newspapers. Non c’è chi non + congiuntivo is an emphatic double negative: non c’è chi non lo sappia literally there’s nobody who doesn’t know it, meaning everybody knows it. The double-negative version is much rarer and slightly literary; keep c’è chi non for everyday reportive use.
How is c’è chi different from si dice che?
Both report a claim without naming the source, but they put the agent in different places. C’è chi dice still has a notional human source (the singular chi), so the verb is third person and you can stack two of them to draw a contrast (c’è chi pensa A, c’è chi pensa B). Si dice che is pure impersonal: there’s no agent at all, no chi behind the verb, and the register tilts toward rumour or general report (rumour has it, it is said). Use c’è chi when you want to flag a position; use si dice che when you want the agent to disappear completely.
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Related guides
Three companion guides that pair with italian c’è chi dice, plus an institutional reference on the pronoun chi.
- Italian Un Tale: A Certain Somebody: the vague-reference cousin, for when you want to flag a person rather than a position.
- Italian Conversational Word Order: how natives rearrange clauses for emphasis, a sibling B2 guide.
- Italian Posso vs Riesco: a companion guide on the two-way split English speakers miss.
- Treccani: voce chi: institutional reference on the pronoun chi as free relative and indefinite.
