Se tu non ce l'hai, allora dov'è la borsa?
I totally lost the function of "ce" in this sentence. Any input would be helpful.
Italian Language Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for students, teachers, and linguists wanting to discuss the finer points of the Italian language. It only takes a minute to sign up.
Sign up to join this community"Ce" is the form that the "ci" particle assumes when put in front of "lo", "la", "li", "le", or "ne":
ce1 pron. e avv. – Forma che il pron. o avv. atono ci assume davanti a lo, la, li, le, ne; per es.: ce lo disse, ce le diede, ce ne vollero; anche in posizione enclitica: spiegàrceli, pàrlacene.
(Treccani)
Speaking of "ci" itself, "ci" in this case is known as "ci attualizzante":
[...] Nel parlato e nello scritto informale è molto diffuso l’uso di ci per rafforzare il verbo avere (il cosiddetto ci attualizzante) [...]
In alcuni casi, l’uso di ci è obbligatorio [...]
(Treccani)
Giving up finding a translation of "ci attualizzante" which could convey the exact meaning the expression has in Italian, the concept is that putting "ci" in front of "avere" strengthens the meaning of the verb:
C(i) ho caldo
C(i) hai sonno?
C(i) avevamo fame
(Treccani)
But in an handful of cases, such as this one, "ci" / "ce" is straight mandatory:
«ce l’hai l’ombrello?» «ce l’ho» (non l’ho)
(Treccani)
(as Fabio F. remarks, differently from what Treccani seems to state, in "non l'ho" "ce" is mandatory as well, and the phrase should rather be "non ce l'ho")
Which, in the end, narrows down the reasons behind the use of "ce" in "Se tu non ce l'hai, allora dov'è la borsa?" simply to an idiomatic matter.
Here ce means it.
A proper translation could be:
If it's not you who has the bag (it), then where is the bag.
A bad but literal translation could be:
If you don't have it, where is the bag?
Se tu non cel'hai
also means
If you are without a penis (ie. dickless), which also means, if you have no guts.
Since borsa is also the stock market, it could also mean
If you have no guts, then what the heck are you doing with your stock market skills.
Italian language can be quite flexible.