Italian Indirect Object Pronouns: Explained
Pronouns are words that refer to and substitute nouns, usually expressed in a previous sentence or implied in the context.
Indirect object pronouns (pronomi complemento indiretto) are pronouns that substitute for nouns that serve as the indirect object of the sentence verb, indicating to whom or to what (or for whom or for what, with whom or with what, etc.) an action was done.
An indirect pronoun is used to refer to the person or thing an action is intended to benefit or harm.
Indirect object pronouns are used in English as well. For example:
She gave him the book
In this sentence, “him” is an indirect object pronoun that answers the question “whom was the book given to?”.
The only difference between English and Italian is that English has only one set of object pronouns, while Italian has two different kinds: direct object pronouns and indirect object pronouns.
For a comparison between Italian and English pronouns, please see the table below:
| Person
(English) |
Person
(Italian) |
Object Pronoun
(English) |
Direct Object Pronoun
(Italian) |
Indirect Object Pronoun
(Italian) |
| I | io | me | mi | mi |
| you | tu | you | ti | ti |
| he/ she/ it | lui / lei | him/ her/ it | lo / la | gli / le |
| we | noi | us | ci | ci |
| you | voi | you | vi | vi |
| they | loro | them | li | gli |
Indirect Object Pronoun Placement
The most important rule to keep in mind about Italian object pronouns is that they usually appear before the verb, while in English they follow the verb. The word order in Italian is:
Subject (if expressed) + indirect object pronoun + verb.
Cosa hai regalato a Marta per il suo compleanno?
(What did you gift Marta for her birthday?)
(Io) Le ho regalato un libro.
(I gifted her a book.)
| (Io) | le | ho regalato | un libro |
| Subject | indirect object pronoun | verb |
Practice with Quizlet
Here's a set of flashcards and quizzes to practice this grammar topic.Italian Indirect Object Pronouns: Sample Sentences
See the following examples:
Le ho telefonato diverse volte, ma non mi ha risposto.
I called her several time, but she didn’t pick up.
Gli voglio fare una sorpresa!
I want to surprise him.
Perché non mi vuoi parlare?
Why don’t you want to talk to me?
Ti ho scritto una lettera. L’hai ricevuta?
I wrote a letter to you. Did you receive it?
Vi chiediamo scusa.
We ask for your forgiveness.
Ci puoi portare qualcosa da mangiare?
Can you bring us something to eat?
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