Two sets, one habit
Direct pronouns replace the thing acted on: lo vedo, I see him. Indirect pronouns replace a + person: gli parlo, I talk to him. Both sit before the conjugated verb.
The sets overlap almost entirely. Mi, ti, ci and vi serve both jobs, so the real learning load is four words: lo, la, li, le for direct, and gli, le for indirect.
The placement habit matters more than the chart: the pronoun comes before the conjugated verb, which feels backwards to English speakers for about a week and then becomes automatic.
| English | Direct | Indirect |
|---|---|---|
| me / to me | mi | mi |
| you / to you | ti | ti |
| him, it / to him | lo | gli |
| her, it / to her | la | le |
| us / to us | ci | ci |
| you pl. / to you pl. | vi | vi |
| them (m) / to them | li | gli |
| them (f) / to them | le | gli |
Direct: lo, la, li, le
Before a vowel or the h of avere, lo and la elide: l'ho visto, l'ha comprata. Li and le never elide, which is a useful visual cue in reading.
| Vedi Marco? S矛, lo vedo. | Do you see Marco? Yes, I see him. |
| Compri le mele? S矛, le compro. | Are you buying the apples? Yes, I am buying them. le = feminine plural things. |
| Mi puoi aiutare? | Can you help me? aiutare takes a direct object in Italian. |
Indirect: gli and le
Indirect pronouns stand for a + person. Telefono a Laura becomes Le telefono. Scrivo a Marco becomes Gli scrivo. In everyday Italian, gli also covers 'to them' for both genders.
Verbs of giving and communicating take indirect objects for the person: dare, dire, parlare, telefonare, scrivere, rispondere, chiedere, mandare. Piacere runs on the same channel: Le piace il jazz, she likes jazz.
| Telefono a Laura stasera. Le telefono verso le nove. | I will phone Laura tonight. I will call her around nine. |
| Gli scrivo un messaggio subito. | I am writing him a message right away. |
| Gli chiedo un consiglio. | I am asking them for advice. gli = 'to them' in modern usage. |
Le is the overloaded word: 'them (feminine, direct)', 'to her (indirect)', and the article 'the (feminine plural)'. Position and verb type disambiguate. Le vedo: I see them. Le scrivo: I write to her.
Past tense agreement
When lo, la, li or le precedes a passato prossimo with avere, the participle agrees with the pronoun: Hai visto la mostra? S矛, l'ho vista. Hai comprato i biglietti? S矛, li ho comprati.
This agreement is obligatory with third-person direct pronouns and does not apply to indirect pronouns: Le ho scritto (I wrote to her) keeps scritto unchanged.
| Hai visto la mostra? S矛, l'ho vista ieri. | Have you seen the exhibition? Yes, I saw it yesterday. vista agrees with la (the exhibition). |
| Dove sono le chiavi? Le ho messe nella borsa. | Where are the keys? I put them in my bag. messe agrees with le chiavi. |
Combining the two: glielo and friends
When both pronouns appear, the indirect one comes first and changes vowel: mi, ti, ci, vi become me, te, ce, ve. Ti do il libro becomes Te lo do.
Gli and le both merge with the direct pronoun into a single written word: glielo, gliela, glieli, gliele. One form serves 'to him', 'to her' and 'to them'.
| Ti do il libro domani. Te lo do domani. | I will give you the book tomorrow. I will give it to you tomorrow. |
| Marco vuole la ricetta. Gliela mando stasera. | Marco wants the recipe. I will send it to him tonight. glie + la written as one word. |
Pronunciation corner
Pronouns are unstressed and lean on the verb. Say each pair as a single rhythmic unit.
| lo vedo | /lo 藞vedo/ | loh VEH-doh |
| gli parlo | /蕩i 藞parlo/ | lyee PAR-loh gli is one gliding sound, never 'glee'. |
| le scrivo | /le 藞skrivo/ | leh SKREE-voh |
| glielo | /藞蕩elo/ | LYEH-loh Two pronouns, one smooth word. |
| l'ho vista | /l蓴 藞vista/ | loh VEE-stah The h of ho is silent; l' and ho fuse. |
Practice drill
Rewrite each sentence, replacing the underlined-style noun phrase with the correct pronoun.
Vedo Anna ogni giorno.Show answer
La vedo ogni giorno.
Compro i biglietti online.Show answer
Li compro online.
Telefono a Marco.Show answer
Gli telefono.
Scrivo a mia madre.Show answer
Le scrivo.
Ho mangiato la torta.Show answer
L'ho mangiata.Participle agrees with la torta.
Do il libro a te.Show answer
Te lo do.
Mando la lettera a Luca.Show answer
Gliela mando.gli + la = gliela, one word.
Inviti gli amici alla cena?Show answer
Li inviti alla cena?
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between gli and le?
Gli means 'to him' and, in modern usage, 'to them'. Le means 'to her'. As a direct pronoun, le separately means 'them' for feminine plural nouns, so let the verb tell you which job le is doing.
Where do Italian object pronouns go?
Before a conjugated verb: lo vedo, le scrivo. With an infinitive they attach to the end: voglio vederlo, or equivalently lo voglio vedere after a modal.
When must the past participle agree with a pronoun?
When lo, la, li or le comes before a passato prossimo with avere: l'ho vista, li ho comprati. Indirect pronouns trigger no agreement: le ho scritto stays unchanged.
How is glielo formed and what does it mean?
Glie (from gli or le) plus lo, la, li or le fuses into one word: glielo, gliela, glieli, gliele. It means 'it/them to him', 'to her' or 'to them': Gliela mando, I will send it to him or her.
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