Italian grammar · Beginner
Italian Pronouns
Italian pronouns replace a noun, and their form depends on the job of that noun: subject, direct object, indirect object, reflexive, or stressed. Object pronouns usually go before the conjugated verb, and subject pronouns are often dropped because the verb ending already shows the person.
What it is
A pronoun replaces a noun so that you do not repeat it. Italian chooses the form by the job of the noun in the sentence: subject (io, tu, lui), direct object (lo, la), indirect object (gli, le), reflexive (mi, ti, si), or stressed (me, te) after a preposition. Unlike English, object pronouns usually go before the conjugated verb: vedo Marco becomes lo vedo. Subject pronouns are usually dropped, because the verb ending already shows the person.
Conosci Paola? Sì, la conosco bene. (Do you know Paola? Yes, I know her well.) The pronoun la comes before conosco.
How to spot it
Look at what the noun does. If it follows the verb with no preposition, use a direct object pronoun. If a person follows a (to), use an indirect object pronoun, and if a place follows a, use ci. If it follows a different preposition, use a stressed pronoun: con lui, per me.
- Compro il pane. → Lo compro. (I buy the bread. → I buy it. (direct object))
- Scrivo a Lucia. → Le scrivo. (I write to Lucia. → I write to her. (indirect object))
- Vado a Roma. → Ci vado. (I'm going to Rome. → I'm going there. (ci))
- Esco con Marco. → Esco con lui. (I'm going out with Marco. → I'm going out with him. (stressed))
Object pronouns attach to the end of an infinitive, a gerund, or an informal affirmative command: voglio vederlo, guardandola, dimmi. When two object pronouns meet, the indirect one comes first and changes its vowel: mi + lo becomes me lo, and gli or le + lo becomes glielo.
Pronouns Quick Reference
The Italian pronoun families at a glance
| Family | Forms | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Subject | io, tu, lui / lei / Lei, noi, voi, loro | Io lavoro, tu studi. (I work, you study.) |
| Direct object | mi, ti, lo / la / La, ci, vi, li / le | Lo conosco bene. (I know him well.) |
| Indirect object | mi, ti, gli / le / Le, ci, vi, gli (formal: loro) | Gli scrivo una lettera. (I'm writing him a letter.) |
| Reflexive | mi, ti, si, ci, vi, si | Mi alzo alle sette. (I get up at seven.) |
| Stressed | me, te, lui / lei / Lei, noi, voi, loro, sé | Questo regalo è per te. (This gift is for you.) |
| Combined (double) | me lo, te lo, glielo, ce lo, ve lo, glielo (also me la, te li, gliele) | Te lo do domani. (I'll give it to you tomorrow.) |
| Ci and ne | ci (there, about it), ne (of it, of them, some) | Ci vado domani. Ne voglio due. (I'm going there tomorrow. I want two of them.) |
| Impersonal si | si + third-person verb | In Italia si mangia bene. (In Italy people eat well.) |
| Possessive | il mio, la mia, i miei, le mie (also tuo, suo, nostro, vostro, loro) | Questa macchina è la mia. (This car is mine.) |
| Demonstrative | questo, questa, questi, queste; quello, quella, quelli, quelle | Preferisco questo. (I prefer this one.) |
| Relative | che, cui, il quale / la quale / i quali / le quali, chi | Il libro che leggo è bello. (The book I'm reading is good.) |
| Interrogative | chi, che cosa, quale, quanto | Chi è? (Who is it?) |
All 9 pronouns lessons
Pronouns make your Italian shorter and more natural, and they are also where English speakers make the most word-order mistakes. These lessons start with the personal pronouns: subject, direct object, indirect object, reflexive, and stressed. Then they cover the small particles ci and ne and the impersonal si, and finish with the possessive and relative pronouns that you need for longer sentences.
Personal Pronouns
The pronouns for people and things in each role, from io and tu to lo, gli, mi, and me, with the rules for where each one goes.
- Direct Object Pronouns: Italian direct object pronouns (mi, ti, lo, la, ci, vi, li, le) replace the person or thing that receives the action of the verb, so vedo Marco becomes lo vedo. They are the most frequent of the Italian object pronouns. Unlike English, they normally go before the conjugated verb, not after it.
- Indirect Object Pronouns: 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.
- Reflexive Pronouns: Italian reflexive pronouns (mi, ti, si, ci, vi, si) show that the subject does the action to itself: mi lavo, I wash (myself). Many everyday verbs that are not reflexive in English need them in Italian, such as svegliarsi (to wake up), alzarsi (to get up), and chiamarsi (to be called). In the infinitive the pronoun attaches to the end, which is why these verbs end in -arsi, -ersi, or -irsi.
- Subject Pronouns: Italian subject pronouns are io, tu, lui, lei, Lei, noi, voi, and loro. Because the verb ending already shows who is acting, Italian usually leaves them out: parlo means I speak on its own. You add the pronoun for emphasis, for contrast, or to avoid confusion, not because English would need one.
- Stressed Pronouns: Italian stressed pronouns (me, te, lui, lei, Lei, noi, voi, loro, and sé), also called disjunctive pronouns, are the forms you use after a preposition or when you want to put weight on the person: con me, per te, a lui. They go where a noun would go, after the verb or the preposition, not before the verb like mi, ti, and lo.
Other Pronouns
Possessive pronouns such as il mio and la tua, and the relative pronouns che, cui, and il quale that join two clauses.
- Possessive Pronouns: Italian possessive pronouns (il mio, la tua, i nostri, and so on) replace a noun and say who owns it: la tua means yours. They look exactly like the possessive adjectives, but they stand alone instead of in front of a noun. They agree with the thing owned, not with the owner.
- Relative Pronouns: Italian relative pronouns (che, cui, il quale, chi) join two ideas by referring back to a noun: il libro che leggo, the book that I'm reading. Che covers who, whom, which, and that as subject or direct object, and cui follows a preposition. Unlike English, Italian never drops the relative pronoun.
Pronoun Particles
Ci, ne, and the impersonal si: short words with no exact English match that native speakers use in almost every conversation.
- Ci and Ne: Ci and ne are two small Italian pronouns with no single English equivalent. Ci usually replaces a place or a phrase introduced by a (there, about it, in it), while ne replaces a quantity or a phrase introduced by di (some, of it, about it). Both go before the conjugated verb, like other object pronouns.
- Si Impersonale: The si impersonale is si plus a third-person verb, used to say what people in general do: si mangia bene qui, you eat well here. It does the job of English one, you, people, or they when no particular person is meant. With a plural noun it becomes the si passivante, and the verb turns plural: si vendono case, houses for sale.
Pronouns FAQs
- Do you need subject pronouns in Italian?
- Usually not. The verb ending already shows the person, so parlo means I speak with no io. Use the subject pronoun for emphasis or contrast, as in io lavoro, tu invece riposi (I work, while you rest), or when the verb form alone is ambiguous.
- What is the difference between lo / la and gli / le?
- Lo and la replace a direct object, a noun that follows the verb with no preposition: vedo Marco becomes lo vedo. Gli and le replace an indirect object introduced by a: scrivo a Marco becomes gli scrivo, and scrivo a Lucia becomes le scrivo. Note that le is both the feminine indirect object (to her) and the feminine plural direct object (them).
- Where do Italian object pronouns go?
- Before the conjugated verb: lo vedo, ti chiamo, gli ho parlato. They attach to the end of an infinitive, a gerund, and an informal affirmative command: voglio vederlo, chiamami. With a modal verb you can do either: lo voglio vedere and voglio vederlo are both correct.
- How do you say formal you in Italian?
- Use Lei with a third-person singular verb: Come sta, signora? (How are you, madam?) Its object forms are La (direct) and Le (indirect), often written with a capital letter. For more than one person, modern Italian uses voi in both formal and informal situations.
- What do ci and ne mean in Italian?
- Ci usually replaces a place or a phrase introduced by a: vado a Roma becomes ci vado (I'm going there). Ne replaces a quantity or a phrase introduced by di: ho tre fratelli becomes ne ho tre (I have three of them). Both go before the conjugated verb, like other object pronouns.