c’era

there was

→ ci
phrase Common #7,171
there was Used with singular nouns; its plural form is “c’erano” (“there were”).
IT: C’era un gatto sul tetto.
EN: There was a cat on the roof.

Non c’era nulla di finto, soprattutto per il signor Daito, l’uomo nella bara.

There was nothing fake about it, especially for Mr. Daito, the man in the coffin.

— Rental Family - Nelle vite degli altri (2025)

C’era anche una busta sigillata di David Robertson.

There was also a sealed envelope from David Robertson.

Che cosa c’era che non andava?

What was wrong?

C’era qualche problema?

Was there a problem?

C’era un indice dei quaderni della biblioteca.

There was an index of the library’s notebooks.

E poi c’era una scatola di metallo, qui.

And then there was a metal box, here.

— Il mio amico Ivan Lapshin (1985)

Là c’era davvero Totoro!

Totoro really was there!

— Il mio vicino Totoro (1988)

Qui c’era un cinema?

Was there a cinema here?

— L'agente segreto (2025)

In realtà non c’era altro da dire.

There really wasn’t anything else to say.

A ovest di Spencerport c’era Raditsiobello, e a est c’erano Rubricum e Loricum.

West of Spencerport was Raditsiobello, and to the east were Rubricum and Loricum.

Non c’era nessun segno di tempesta.

There was no sign of a storm.

Sì, c’era.

Yes, there was.

— Hamnet - Nel nome del figlio (2025)

Non c’era traccia di persone.

There was no sign of anyone.

C’era gente che gli ha dato tutti i risparmi di una vita.

There were people who gave him their life savings.

C’era qualcosa che non tornava nel Rubricum, ma non riuscivo a capire cosa.

Something was off about the Rubricum, but I couldn’t figure out what.

Per fortuna, al servizio c’era il ragazzo di Delila.

Luckily, Delila’s boyfriend was on duty.

C’era una gamba dentro lo squalo.

There was a leg inside the shark.

— L'agente segreto (2025)

Mi aveva detto cosa c’era da fare.

He had told me what needed to be done.

Nel parco c’era un nuovo ponte.

There was a new bridge in the park.

— Il mio amico Ivan Lapshin (1985)

Misi in giro la voce che c’era un giro di scommesse.

I spread the word that there was a betting ring.

Non c’era niente che non andasse.

There was nothing wrong.

C’era anche un totale generale.

There was also a grand total.

Quando entrai, al banco c’era Lee Parkerson.

When I walked in, Lee Parkerson was at the counter.

C’era lo stagno che avevo visto.

There was the pond I had seen.

Come l’ultima volta, al World’s End Inn c’era un gran trambusto quando arrivai.

Like last time, the World’s End Inn was in an uproar when I arrived.

C’era un fondo di verità.

There was a grain of truth to it.

C’era una volta, un’arma il cui nome era Ares.

Once upon a time, there was a weapon whose name was Ares.

— TRON: Ares (2025)

Zio, qui il bottone non c’era.

Dude, the button wasn’t here.

— La vita è bella (1997)

Non c’era nessun calcolo in ciò che ho detto.

There was no calculation in what I said.

— Mademoiselle (2016)

Non c’era più molto da dire.

There wasn't much left to say.

— Il filo del ricatto - Dead Man's Wire (2026)

C’era davvero qualcosa.

There really was something.

— No Other Choice - Non c'è altra scelta (2025)

C’era qualcosa che non avevo capito, ma ancora non sapevo cosa.

There was something I hadn’t understood, but I still didn’t know what it was.

C’era un trucco con il calendario, ma lui non sapeva quale fosse.

There was a trick involving the calendar, but he didn’t know what it was.

Se erano tutti a Spencerport, c’era una legge complicata che lo impediva.

If they were all in Spencerport, there was a complicated law that prevented it.

Dopotutto, tutti sapevano manovrare una dory, quindi cosa c’era da imparare?

After all, everyone knew how to handle a dory, so what was there to learn?

Non c’era nessuno a casa così l'abbiamo accettato per te.

There was no one home, so we accepted it for you.

— Il mio vicino Totoro (1988)

A sud-ovest c’era l’unica terra in vista.

To the southwest was the only land in sight.

C’era anche sugli altri due cadaveri.

It was on the other two corpses as well.

C’era il manzo in offerta.

There was beef on offer.

— Rental Family - Nelle vite degli altri (2025)

C’era qualcosa di inquietante in quel luogo.

There was something unsettling about that place.

C’era una questione che cercavo sempre di evitare.

There was an issue I always tried to avoid.

In fondo, non c’era più bisogno di allungare il Molo delle Onde.

In the end, there was no longer any need to extend the Wave Pier.

Ma c’era questo carillon che la teneva addormentata.

But there was this music box that kept her asleep.

— Five Nights at Freddy's 2 (2025)

Da qualche parte c’era una lezione.

There was a lesson somewhere.

Da qualche parte, in tutto questo, c’era il quarto errore.

Somewhere in all this was the fourth mistake.