Italian Indirect Object Pronouns: Grammar Lesson

Italian indirect object pronouns (mi, ti, gli, le, ci, vi) replace a noun introduced by the preposition a and answer the question “to whom?”. They go before the conjugated verb: Le telefono domani (I will call her tomorrow).

Below you will find the full table, the rules for where to put them, the verbs that need them, and a short practice at the end.

What are Pronouns?

In linguistics, a pronoun is a word that substitutes for a noun or noun phrase. There are several types of pronouns in Italian, but in this article I will focus on one of the two types of object pronouns that exist.

In fact, object pronouns can be direct and indirect:

1. Direct object pronouns: These are the object of transitive verbs like mangiare (to eat), comprare (to buy), vedere (to see). They are directly linked to the verb without the use of any preposition.
2. Indirect object pronouns: These stand for the person who receives the action or benefits from it, with verbs like dare (to give), dire (to say), telefonare (to phone), rispondere (to answer). They are linked to the verb with the use of a preposition, usually a.

Other types of pronouns in Italian are:

• Personal pronouns: You might know these as subjects. These are the Italian io, tu, lui/lei/Lei, noi, voi, loro.
• pronoun ci: Normally translated into “there”, is used for places.
• pronoun ne: Used to refer to topics and parts of amounts. It substitutes for objects that are introduced by the preposition di.

Without further ado, let’s see what indirect object pronouns in Italian are.

Indirect Object Pronouns in Italian

What are Indirect Object Pronouns?

Indirect object pronouns – often called “indirect pronouns” – are pronouns that substitute for a noun that is introduced by the preposition a.

They serve as the indirect object of the sentence verb, indicating to whom or to what an action is intended or referred. Of course, indirect object pronouns are used in English as well. For example:

In this sentence, “him” is an indirect object pronoun that answers the question “to whom (was the book given to)?”.

When you have this type of sentence, in Italian it can result in two different forms:

In the first sentence, we are using the indirect object pronoun, while in the second one we are using the preposition a + the tonic pronoun (the stressed form). The short pronoun gli is the unstressed one, called a clitic.

Do not worry about all these weird and super linguistic names. You do not need to know them all, but, as a linguist, I have the moral obligation to give you a clear picture!

In terms of meaning, nothing changes in these two sentences, but in terms of structure it surely does.

Before I show you the table below to see how Italian indirect object pronouns (pronomi complemento indiretto)  are structured, notice that English makes no distinction between direct and indirect pronouns. Therefore, they are just labelled as object pronouns.

Italian does make a difference, but here I will focus on indirect pronouns only.

How to use Italian Indirect Object Pronouns?

Placement

Unlike English, Italian object pronouns usually precede the verb. This is statistically the most common occurrence, because pronouns precede the verbs when the verb is:

• A finite verb, that is, a verb that display tense, person, and number (present, past, future etc…)
• Formal imperative, that is, the imperative form with the formal lei.

The standard word order for Italian indirect pronouns is:

Subject (if expressed) + indirect object pronoun + verb.

However, indirect object pronouns in Italian can also follow the verb. This happens when the verb is:

• A non-finite verb, that is, a verb that displays no tense, no person, no number (gerund, participle; infinitive is pretty flexible, so you can find both!)
• Informal imperative, that is, the imperative form with the informal tu

Now link your knowledge: pronouns can both precede and follow the negative form of the informal imperative, because this is created with the infinitive! Therefore, the pronouns placement of the negative imperative is something you might want to deepen.

Therefore, this order for Italian indirect pronouns is:

Subject (if expressed) + verb + indirect object pronoun.

Gender and Number

As you can see from the examples above, Italian displays two forms for the third person singular: le (her/it) and gli (him/it). This latter one is the same as the third person plural, though.

In Italian, the grammatical feature of gender is an important aspect to look at when using pronouns. If the relevant indirect object is masculine, then you must use gli (to him), and if it is feminine, you must use le (to her).

When you use the plural form, this gender distinction disappears and you can use gli for both feminine and masculine group of people.

Here, a lei refers to a feminine singular third person, therefore it becomes le.

Here, a lui refers to a masculine singular third person, therefore it becomes gli.

Here, a loro does not specify the gender of the third person plural indirect object, in fact gli can stand for both genders.

Verbs That Take an Indirect Object Pronoun

Most of these verbs are about giving, telling or sending something to someone. In Italian they take a before the person, so they are the verbs where you will use these pronouns:

• dare (to give), regalare (to give as a gift), offrire (to offer), prestare (to lend)
• dire (to say, to tell), raccontare (to tell a story), spiegare (to explain), chiedere (to ask)
• mandare (to send), scrivere (to write), telefonare (to phone), rispondere (to answer)
• piacere (to like, to please), servire (to be needed), sembrare (to seem)

Stressed Pronouns: Emphasis and Contrast

The forms a me, a te, a lui, a lei, a noi, a voi, a loro from the table are the stressed pronouns. Use them when you want to emphasize or contrast the person. They usually go after the verb. At the start of a sentence they set up a contrast, and the short pronoun is then left out:

Indirect Object Pronouns and Negation

If you want to turn an affirmative sentence into a negative sentence in Italian, you have to use the word non, which always precedes the verb it negates.

Take a look at the examples below.

Since indirect pronouns also precede the verb, you might be wondering how to deal with these two items. The answer is very easy: non + indirect pronoun + verb

More Rules for Indirect Object Pronouns

With Modal Verbs

With potere, volere, dovere and sapere, you can put the pronoun before the modal verb or attach it to the infinitive. The meaning is the same:

In the Passato Prossimo

In the passato prossimo, the past participle does not agree with an indirect object pronoun. This is different from the third-person direct object pronouns lo, la, li, le, which do agree:

Gli, Loro and Formal Le

For “to them”, Italians almost always use gli before the verb, as in the table. The older form loro goes after the verb and sounds formal: Racconto loro una storia (I tell them a story), which in everyday speech becomes Gli racconto una storia.

When you talk to one person in a formal way, use the capitalized Le (to you). It comes from the formal Lei:

With Piacere

The verb piacere always works with an indirect object pronoun, because in Italian the thing you like is the subject and the person is the one who receives the pleasure: Mi piace la pizza (literally “pizza is pleasing to me”). Ti piace? (do you like it?), Non gli piace (he does not like it). There is a full lesson on how to use piacere and a guide to expressing likes and dislikes in Italian.

Together With a Direct Object Pronoun

When you replace both the person and the thing, the indirect pronoun comes first and changes its form: mi + lo = me lo, gli / le + lo = glielo.

The full rules are in the lesson on double pronouns.

Common Mistakes With Indirect Object Pronouns

• Mixing up le as direct and indirect. Le can mean “them” (feminine, direct: le vedo, I see them) or “to her” (indirect: le parlo, I talk to her). Check the verb: does it take a?
• Dropping the a with stressed pronouns. Say Lo dico a te, not Lo dico te.
• Making the participle agree. Say Le ho scritto, not Le ho scritta.
• Using an indirect pronoun where Italian wants a direct one. English says “listen to him”, but ascoltare takes a direct object: Lo ascolto, not Gli ascolto. The same goes for aspettare (to wait for) and guardare (to look at).

And Now, Fammi Vedere! (Show me!)

Of course, fai vedere a me is a perfect example of indirect object pronouns placement, but let me show you some more examples:

Practice: Choose the Right Pronoun

Fill in each gap with the correct indirect object pronoun. The answers are below.

1. ___ telefono domani. (to Marco)
2. ___ ho regalato un libro. (to Sara)
3. Puoi dar___ una mano? (to me)
4. ___ scrivo una lettera. (to you, plural)
5. Non ___ ho detto niente. (to you, singular)
6. ___ piace la pizza. (to us)

Answers:

1. Gli telefono domani. (I will call him tomorrow.)
2. Le ho regalato un libro. (I gave her a book.)
3. Puoi darmi una mano? (Can you give me a hand?)
4. Vi scrivo una lettera. (I am writing you a letter.)
5. Non ti ho detto niente. (I did not tell you anything.)
6. Ci piace la pizza. (We like pizza.)

Keep on practicing with Italian indirect object pronouns, and you’ll soon be ready to study double pronouns as well!