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Italian Object Pronouns

Object pronouns are used to replace someone or something that has already been mentioned. In English, these are me, you, him, her, etc. In this guide, you'll learn their Italian equivalents and how to use them correctly.

Direct Object Pronouns

These are called direct object pronouns because they receive the action of the verb directly. Here is a list of them in Italian:

Italian English
mi me
ti you
lo him/it
la her/it
ci us
vi you
li them (masculine)
le them (feminine)

Ti amo

I love you

Io la amo

I love her

Non vedo Giorgio

I don’t see Giorgio

Non lo vedo

I don’t see him

Ho conosciuto Elena due anni fa

I met Elena two years ago

L’ho conosciuta due anni fa

I met her two years ago

Lucia mangia una mela

Lucia eats an apple

Lucia la mangia

Lucia eats it

Lo and La

Mi dispiace, ma non la conosco.

I’m sorry, but I don’t know her/you (formal)

La posso aiutare, signora?

Can I help you, ma’am?

Sai a che ora torna Marco? No, non lo so.

Do you know when Marco is coming back? No, I don’t know.

Giorgia ha lasciato il suo ragazzo. Non lo sapevo.

Giorgia broke up with her boyfriend. I didn’t know.

Ho scoperto che mi ha mentito. Lo sospettavo da un po’.

I found out he lied to me. I had suspected it for a while.

Apostrophe Forms: l’

Both lo and la drop the final vowel before a verb starting with a vowel, especially with avere, becoming l’:

Dove hai messo l’auto? L’ho parcheggiata laggiù.

Where did you put the car? I parked it over there.

L’ho visto l’altro giorno in centro.

I saw him/her the other day in the city center.

È arrivata una lettera; l’ha consegnata il postino.

A letter arrived; the mailman delivered it.

Pronoun Placement

Object pronouns normally go before the verb:

Ti amo.

I love you

But when the verb is in the infinitive form ending in -are, -ere, -ire, the pronoun can be placed either before the conjugated verb or attached to the infinitive:

Attached to the infinitive:

Non posso aiutarvi.

I can’t help you (plural/formal)

Devo farlo da solo.

I have to do it by myself

Ora devo lasciarvi.

Now I have to leave you

Before the verb:

Non vi posso aiutare.

I can’t help you

Lo devo fare da solo.

I have to do it by myself

Ora vi devo lasciare.

Now I have to leave you

Devo tradurlo.

I have to translate it

Note: If the verb ends in -urre (like tradurre), one r is dropped when attaching the pronoun: Devo tradurlo I have to translate it.

Agreement with Past Participles

With the passato prossimo, the past participle must agree in gender and number with the direct object pronoun:

Hai visto Elena? No, non l’ho vista.

Have you seen Elena? No, I haven’t seen her.

Hai visto Marco? No, non l’ho visto.

Have you seen Marco? No, I haven’t seen him.

Ho lavato la camicia e poi l’ho stirata.

I washed the shirt and then ironed it.

Ho comprato del latte, l’ho messo in frigo.

I bought some milk and put it in the fridge.

Stressed Pronouns

Italian also has stressed (emphatic) pronouns, used in two main situations:

After prepositions (e.g., di, a, con):

Sto pensando a Paola. Sto pensando a lei.

I’m thinking about her

Vado alla festa con Gina. Vado alla festa con lei.

I’m going to the party with her

Loro parlano di Marco. Loro parlano di lui.

They’re talking about him

For emphasis (only with people, not objects):

Ti amo. Amo te.

I love you (emphasizing the person)

Here’s a list of stressed pronouns:

Italian English
me me
te you
lui him
lei her/you (formal)
noi us
voi you
loro them

They correspond to the subject pronouns io, tu, lui, etc., except for the first and second person singular: me instead of io, and te instead of tu.

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