Object pronouns indicate the person or thing affected by the action of the verb, both directly and indirectly. This is the unstressed form of the object pronouns in Italian:
SINGULAR:
| |
Masculine |
Feminine |
Meaning |
| 1st |
mi |
me |
| 2nd |
ti
|
you |
| 3rd |
lo, gli, ne / si (reflexive) |
la, le, ne / si (reflexive) |
him, it / himself |
PLURAL:
| |
Masculine |
Feminine |
Meaning |
| 1st |
ci |
us |
| 2nd |
ci
|
you |
| 3rd |
li, ne |
le, ne |
them |
Usage:
The direct / indirect object pronouns of the unstressed form are generally used before the verb.
Examples:
- Mi piacciono i tuoi genitori / I like your parents
- Le vuoi dire perché stai ridendo? / Would you tell her why are you laughing?
- Gli ho chiesto perché / I've asked him why
- Li ho trovati bene / I've found them well
In some cases they follow the verb, becoming englobed in the verb itself (attached to its end). This happens with positive imperatives, infinitives and gerunds.
Examples:
- Baciami! / Kiss me!
- Marco e Anna sono venuti a salutarci / Marco and Anna have come to greet us
- Devi perdonarlo. Ti prego, perdonalo! / You must forgive him. Please, forgive him!
- Dicendoti che Marco ti ama ho fatto un casino / I've made mess by telling you that Marco loves you.
The direct / indirect object pronouns in the unstressed form can be arranged in pairs, each of them answering a different question, usually "whom / what?" and "who / what … to?".
In this context mi, ti, gli, si, vi, ci (which answer the question "who / what … to?") become me, te, glie-, se, ve, ce and precede lo, la, le, li (which answer the question "whom? / what?").
Examples:
- Vieni, te lo mostro / Come, I'll show it to you
- Ve la voglio proprio presentare / I really want to introduce her to you
- Se l'è preso tua figlia / Your daughter took it for herself
- Ce lo voleva dire lui stesso / He wanted to tell us that himself
NOTE that gli in this context becomes glie- which is enclitic (attached to the object pronoun which follows)
- Anna glielo ha già detto / Anna has already told him that
- Gliela presenterò domani / I will introduce her to him tomorrow
- Glieli ho presi io / I took them for him
- Quelle scarpe sono di Anna. Gliele ha prestate lei / Those shoes are Anna's. She lent them to her
