“There is a tree”
“There are some people”

We can express these statements in Italian by using c’è  [there is] and ci sono [there are].

One of the meanings of the pronoun ci  is “there”.
We can pair CI with the verb essere – to be [è =  is   /  sono = are]      
​And we get...
                                                          ci + è = c’è                ci + sono = ci sono

Why does c’è look different?  Well, it is technically ci è but to avoid pronouncing the double vowel  (which takes longer to say!), we drop the ‘i’ and add an apostrophe, so it becomes c’è.

Esempi / Examples:

C’è una penna sul tavolo.  

Non c’è problema.     

-Scusi, c’è Anna?   -No, non c’è.     
​  
Non c’è il professore oggi.  

​
Ci sono due libri nello zaino.       
​
Quanti bicchieri ci sono sul tavolo?

There is a pen on the table.
​
 (there is) No problem.

- Excuse me, is Anna there?       - No, she’s not.

The professor is not here today. (There is no professor today.)
​
There are two books in the backpack.

​How many glasses are (there) on the table?

Pratica!