What are the Italian indirect object pronouns?

They are mi (to me), ti (to you), gli (to him), le (to her), Le (to you, formal), ci (to us), vi (to you, plural), and gli (to them). In formal writing, loro after the verb can replace gli for to them.

What is the difference between gli and le?

Gli means to him (and, in speech, to them). Le means to her, and with a capital L it means to you in formal speech. Both are indirect, so neither one causes participle agreement.

Does the past participle agree with indirect object pronouns?

No. Le ho scritto, gli ho parlato, and ci hanno risposto all keep the participle in -o. Agreement only happens with the direct pronouns lo, la, li, le, and with ne.

How do combined pronouns like glielo work?

The indirect pronoun comes first, and mi, ti, ci, vi become me, te, ce, ve: me lo, te la, ce li. Gli, le, and Le all become glie- and fuse with the direct pronoun: glielo, gliela, glieli, gliele. Glielo do means I give it to him, to her, or to you (formal).

Why does piacere use indirect object pronouns?

Piacere means to be pleasing to, so the thing you like is the subject and you are the indirect object. Mi piace il caffè is literally coffee is pleasing to me. That is also why the verb is plural with a plural subject: mi piacciono i dolci.

Italian grammar · Intermediate

Italian Indirect Object Pronouns

Written by Parrot Italian Team, Italian Curriculum Editors · Reviewed October 2026

Italian indirect object pronouns (mi, ti, gli, le, ci, vi, gli) replace a person introduced by a: the person something is given, said, or sent to. Scrivo a Marco becomes gli scrivo. They follow the same placement rules as direct object pronouns, but the past participle never agrees with them.

Gli ho telefonato ieri sera.

I called him last night.

What it is

An indirect object is the person who receives something: you give a book to Anna, you tell the truth to Marco. In Italian that person is introduced by a, and the indirect pronoun replaces both a and the noun: do il libro ad Anna becomes le do il libro. English often hides the to (I gave her the book), but Italian always treats her here as to her.

Scrivo a mia nonna. → Le scrivo. (I'm writing to my grandmother. → I'm writing to her.)

How to spot it

Ask whether the noun followed a in the full sentence. Verbs of giving, telling, and sending (dare, dire, mandare, regalare, scrivere, chiedere, rispondere, telefonare) take an indirect object for the person.

Gli do il mio numero. (I'm giving him my number.)
Le chiedo un favore. (I'm asking her a favor.)
Ci rispondono sempre. (They always answer us.)
Ti piace il gelato? (Do you like ice cream? (literally: does ice cream please you?))

Telefonare, rispondere, and chiedere take a in Italian, so they use indirect pronouns even though their English equivalents take a direct object: gli telefono (I call him).

Indirect Object Pronouns Quick Reference

The indirect object pronouns by person. In everyday Italian, gli means both to him and to them.

Person	Pronoun	English	Example
io	mi	to me	Mi scrivi? (Will you write to me?)
tu	ti	to you (informal)	Ti do una mano. (I'll give you a hand.)
lui	gli	to him	Gli parlo domani. (I'll talk to him tomorrow.)
lei	le	to her	Le mando un messaggio. (I'm sending her a message.)
Lei (formal)	Le	to you (formal)	Le posso offrire un caffè? (May I offer you a coffee?)
noi	ci	to us	Ci spiegano tutto. (They explain everything to us.)
voi	vi	to you (plural)	Vi porto il conto. (I'll bring you the bill.)
loro	gli (formal: loro, after the verb)	to them	Gli telefono io. (I'll phone them.)

Common Indirect Object Pronouns Examples in Italian

Indirect object pronouns in everyday sentences:

Giving and Sending

Le ho regalato un libro.: I gave her a book.
Gli mandiamo una cartolina da Roma.: We'll send him a postcard from Rome.

The thing given is the direct object. The person who receives it is the indirect object.

Saying and Asking

Mi dici la verità?: Will you tell me the truth?
Gli ho chiesto un consiglio.: I asked him for advice.
Che cosa le hai risposto?: What did you say back to her?

Dire, chiedere, and rispondere all take a + person, so the person is always an indirect object.

Verbs Like Piacere

Mi piacciono i film italiani.: I like Italian films.
Gli serve una mano.: He needs a hand.
La nostra città ci manca molto.: We really miss our city.

With piacere, servire, and mancare, the thing liked, needed, or missed is the subject, and the person is an indirect object.

Formal Le

Signora, Le porto subito il menù.: Madam, I'll bring you the menu right away.
Le auguro una buona giornata.: I wish you a good day. (formal)

Le is the formal to you for both men and women, with a third-person verb.

How Italian Indirect Object Pronouns Work

The position is the same as for direct object pronouns. The differences are agreement, gli, and the way the pronouns combine.

Same Position as Direct Pronouns

The pronoun goes before the conjugated verb and attaches to the end of infinitives, gerunds, and informal affirmative commands. With dovere, potere, and volere, it can also go before the modal verb.

Voglio dirgli la verità.

I want to tell him the truth.

dire → dirgli, or gli voglio dire.

No Agreement in Compound Tenses

The past participle never agrees with an indirect pronoun. Le ho telefonato stays in -o even though le refers to a woman.

Le ho telefonato ieri.

I phoned her yesterday.

le ho telefonato, never le ho telefonata.

Gli for Him and for Them

In everyday Italian, gli covers both to him and to them. Loro placed after the verb is the formal plural option (ho scritto loro), and you will see it mostly in careful writing.

Ho visto i miei cugini e gli ho dato il regalo.

I saw my cousins and gave them the present.

gli = to him, to them.

Commands

In affirmative tu, noi, and voi commands, the pronoun attaches to the end. After the one-syllable commands da', di', and fa', mi, ti, ci, and vi double their first consonant. Gli never doubles.

Dimmi tutto.

Tell me everything.

di' + mi = dimmi, da' + gli = dagli.

Le Never Drops Its Vowel

The direct pronoun la becomes l' before ho, but the indirect pronoun le does not. Le ho detto means I told her; l'ho detto means I said it.

Le ho detto di venire.

I told her to come.

le ho detto (I told her), l'ho detto (I said it).

Common Mistakes with Indirect Object Pronouns

Incorrect: Le ho telefonata ieri. (I called her yesterday.)

Correct: Le ho telefonato ieri. (I called her yesterday.)

Only direct object pronouns trigger participle agreement. Le is indirect here, so the participle stays in -o.

Incorrect: La telefono stasera. (I'll call her tonight.)

Correct: Le telefono stasera. (I'll call her tonight.)

English call takes a direct object, but Italian telefonare takes a + person. The person is indirect, so the pronoun is le.

Incorrect: Gli lo do. (I'm giving it to him.)

Correct: Glielo do. (I'm giving it to him.)

Gli never stands next to lo as two words. The two fuse into glielo.

Incorrect: Mi lo dici? (Will you tell me?)

Correct: Me lo dici? (Will you tell me?)

Before lo, la, li, le, or ne, the pronoun mi becomes me. The same happens to ti, ci, and vi.

Combined Pronouns: Me Lo, Te La, Glielo

When an indirect and a direct pronoun appear together, both change shape and the order is fixed.

Me Lo, Te La, Ce Li, Ve Le

The indirect pronoun comes first, and its final i changes to e: mi + lo = me lo, ti + la = te la, ci + li = ce li, vi + le = ve le. The two pronouns stay separate words before the verb.

Me lo dai?: Will you give it to me?
Te lo prometto.: I promise you.
Ve li porto domani.: I'll bring them to you tomorrow.

The same change happens before ne: me ne, te ne, ce ne, ve ne.

Glielo, Gliela, Glieli, Gliele

Gli, le, and formal Le all become glie- and join the direct pronoun in one word. The same form means to him, to her, to them, and to you (formal), so the context tells you who it is.

Glielo spiego io.: I'll explain it to him (or to her).
Gliel'ho già detto.: I've already told him.
Gliela mando subito.: I'll send it to her right away.

Glielo becomes gliel' before ho, hai, ha, and hanno.

With Infinitives, Commands, and Compound Tenses

The pair attaches as one block to infinitives and informal commands. In compound tenses, the participle agrees with the direct pronoun in the pair, not with the indirect one.

Puoi spiegarmelo?: Can you explain it to me?
Dammelo, per favore.: Give it to me, please.
La chiave? Te l'ho data ieri.: The key? I gave it to you yesterday.

In te l'ho data, the participle is feminine because l' stands for la chiave.

Quick Check: Indirect Object Pronouns

Replace the person with the correct pronoun, or complete the sentence.

1. Scrivo a Paolo. → ___ scrivo.

Answer: Gli scrivo.

Paolo is masculine singular.

2. Ho dato le chiavi a Sara. → ___ ho dato le chiavi.

Answer: Le ho dato le chiavi.

Sara is feminine, and the participle does not agree with le.

3. Mi presti la penna? Sì, ___ presto.

Answer: Sì, te la presto.

Ti becomes te before la.

4. Hai detto la verità a Marco? Sì, ___ detta.

Answer: Sì, gliel'ho detta.

Gli + la = gliela, which becomes gliel' before ho. Detta agrees with la verità.

5. Vuoi dare il libro a Luca? Sì, voglio ___.

Answer: Sì, voglio darglielo.

The combined pronoun attaches to the infinitive as one block.

Indirect Object Pronouns FAQs

What are the Italian indirect object pronouns?: They are mi (to me), ti (to you), gli (to him), le (to her), Le (to you, formal), ci (to us), vi (to you, plural), and gli (to them). In formal writing, loro after the verb can replace gli for to them.
What is the difference between gli and le?: Gli means to him (and, in speech, to them). Le means to her, and with a capital L it means to you in formal speech. Both are indirect, so neither one causes participle agreement.
Does the past participle agree with indirect object pronouns?: No. Le ho scritto, gli ho parlato, and ci hanno risposto all keep the participle in -o. Agreement only happens with the direct pronouns lo, la, li, le, and with ne.
How do combined pronouns like glielo work?: The indirect pronoun comes first, and mi, ti, ci, vi become me, te, ce, ve: me lo, te la, ce li. Gli, le, and Le all become glie- and fuse with the direct pronoun: glielo, gliela, glieli, gliele. Glielo do means I give it to him, to her, or to you (formal).
Why does piacere use indirect object pronouns?: Piacere means to be pleasing to, so the thing you like is the subject and you are the indirect object. Mi piace il caffè is literally coffee is pleasing to me. That is also why the verb is plural with a plural subject: mi piacciono i dolci.