How do I say "I was there" in Italian?
I don't know whether it's "Ci sono stato" or "Sono stato lì/là". Can somebody please explain to me in plain English when to use either of these and why?

I'm so confused why there's so many ways to say "there" in Italian, it doesn't make sense to me at the moment. Thank you!

Question

How do I say "I was there" in Italian?
I don't know whether it's "Ci sono stato" or "Sono stato lì/là". Can somebody please explain to me in plain English when to use either of these and why?

I'm so confused why there's so many ways to say "there" in Italian, it doesn't make sense to me at the moment. Thank you!

Answer

They're both correct ways to say "I was there". Probably the most widespread variant is "ci sono stato", e.g.:

- Sei mai stato in Italia?
- Sì, ci sono stato.

"lì" means some place not very far from the speaker or the listener.
"là" means some place distant from the speaker or the listener.
"ci" is a particle that in this case can have the function of an adverb of place meaning "there".