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:
- 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.
- Indirect object pronouns: These are the object of intransitive verbs like andare (to go), arrivare (to arrive), morire (to die). They are linked to the verb with the use of a preposition.
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:
She gave him the book
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:
Lei gli ha dato il libro / Lei ha dato il libro a lui
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 (also called 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.
| Italian Personal Pronoun | English Personal Pronoun | Italian Indirect Object Pronoun | Italian Clitic | English Object Pronoun |
| io | I | mi | a me | me |
| tu | you | ti | a te | you |
| lui / lei | he/she/it | gli / le | a lui /a lei | his/her/it |
| noi | we | ci | a noi | us |
| voi | you | vi | a voi | you |
| loro | they | gli | a loro | them |
How to use Italian Direct 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.
Cosa hai regalato a Marta per il suo compleanno?
What did you give (to) Marta for her birthday?
(Io) Le ho regalato un libro.
I gave her a book.
| (Io) | le | ho regalato | un libro |
| Subject | indirect object pronoun | verb | direct object |
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.
Sono indecisa se comprarle un regalo o no. Cosa faccio?
I can’t decide whether to buy her a present or not. What do I do?
Compragli un libro!
Buy him a book!
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.
Ho fatto un regalo a lei / Le ho fatto un regalo.
I bought her a present.
Here, a lei refers to a feminine singular third person, therefore it becomes le.
Ho detto il segreto a lui / Gli ho detto il segreto.
I told him the secret.
Here, a lui refers to a masculine singular third person, therefore it becomes gli.
Abbiamo portato del cibo a loro / Gli abbiamo portato del cibo.
We brought them some food.
Here, a loro does not specify the gender of the third person plural indirect object, in fact gli can stand for both genders.
Direct 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.
Guardo la TV la sera / Non guardo la TV la sera.
I watch TV in the evening / I don’t watch TV in the evening.
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
Non le ho detto nulla!
I didn’t tell her anything!
Non ti ho dato la cartolina!
I didn’t give you the postcard!
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:
Gli voglio fare una sorpresa!
I want to surprise him.
Perché non mi vuoi parlare? / Perché non vuoi parlarmi?
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?
Ci puoi portare / puoi portarci qualcosa da mangiare?
Can you bring us something to eat?
Keep on practicing with Italian indirect object pronouns, and you’ll soon be ready to study double pronouns as well!
