Table of Contents
“Do you see Marco?” – “Yes, I see him.” The words “him”, “her”, “it”, “them” are direct object pronouns: they replace the person or thing that receives the action. In this lesson we learn their Italian versions and, most importantly, where to put them in the sentence. Spoiler: not where English puts them.
The pronouns
| mi | me |
| ti | you |
| lo | him, it (masculine) |
| la | her, it (feminine) / you (formal) |
| ci | us |
| vi | you (plural) |
| li | them (masculine) |
| le | them (feminine) |
You already know mi, ti, ci, vi from reflexive verbs. The new ones are the third-person forms: lo, la, li, le. They match the gender and number of the noun they replace, and they look just like definite articles, which makes them easy to remember.
Where does the pronoun go?
Before the conjugated verb. English says “I see him”, Italian says “I him see”:
Vedi Marco? Sì, lo vedo – Do you see Marco? Yes, I see him
Compri la frutta? Sì, la compro – Are you buying the fruit? Yes, I’m buying it
Leggi i giornali? No, non li leggo – Do you read the newspapers? No, I don’t read them
Chi prepara le pizze? Le prepara Gino – Who makes the pizzas? Gino makes them
Mi ami? Sì, ti amo – Do you love me? Yes, I love you
LO and LA before a vowel
Before a verb starting with a vowel or H, LO and LA usually shorten to L’:
Ami la musica? Sì, l’amo – Do you love music? Yes, I love it
Hai il biglietto? Sì, ce l’ho – Do you have the ticket? Yes, I have it
(That little “ce” in “ce l’ho” is just how Italians say “I have it”. Learn it as a fixed phrase.)
With modal verbs
Same rule as with reflexive verbs: the pronoun goes before the modal verb or sticks to the end of the infinitive:
Lo voglio comprare = Voglio comprarlo – I want to buy it
Ti posso aiutare? = Posso aiutarti? – Can I help you?
In the past tense: agreement
Here is the elegant part. When LO, LA, LI, LE come before Passato Prossimo, the participle agrees with the pronoun:
Hai visto Marco? Sì, l’ho visto – Have you seen Marco? Yes, I saw him
Hai visto Anna? Sì, l’ho vista – Have you seen Anna? Yes, I saw her
Hai comprato i biglietti? Sì, li ho comprati – Did you buy the tickets? Yes, I bought them
Hai mangiato le lasagne? Sì, le ho mangiate – Did you eat the lasagna? Yes, I ate it
Examples
Dove sono le chiavi? Non le trovo – Where are the keys? I can’t find them
Questo libro è bellissimo, lo leggo ogni anno – This book is wonderful, I read it every year
Mi capisci? – Do you understand me?
La signora Bruni? La conosco bene – Mrs. Bruni? I know her well
Il caffè lo prendo senza zucchero – (As for) coffee, I take it without sugar
Ci invitano sempre alle loro feste – They always invite us to their parties
Aspettami, ti aspetto anch’io domani – Wait for me, I’ll wait for you tomorrow too
Ho fatto una torta e l’ho portata alla festa – I made a cake and brought it to the party
Vocabulary
| amare – to love
conoscere – to know (a person) capire – to understand invitare – to invite portare – to bring, to carry |
frutta – fruit
giornale – newspaper biglietto – ticket torta – cake zucchero – sugar |
Exercises
Answer the questions replacing the noun with a pronoun (lo, la, li, le)
- Guardi la televisione? Sì, ______ guardo – Do you watch TV? Yes, I watch it
- Mangi il pesce? No, non ______ mangio – Do you eat fish? No, I don’t eat it
- Compri le mele? Sì, ______ compro – Are you buying the apples? Yes, I’m buying them
- Vedi i tuoi amici? Sì, ______ vedo ogni giorno – Do you see your friends? Yes, I see them every day
- Conosci Maria? Sì, ______ conosco – Do you know Maria? Yes, I know her
- Puoi chiamare il dottore? Sì, posso chiamar______ – Can you call the doctor? Yes, I can call him
Complete with the participle agreement
- Hai letto il giornale? Sì, l’ho lett______
- Hai preso la macchina? Sì, l’ho pres______
- Hai invitato le ragazze? Sì, le ho invitat______
- Hai comprato i regali? Sì, li ho comprat______
Answers:
Exercise 1 – 1: la; 2: lo; 3: le; 4: li; 5: la; 6: chiamarlo
Exercise 2 – 1: letto; 2: presa; 3: invitate; 4: comprati