A direct object is the direct recipient of the action of a verb. Direct
object pronouns replace direct object nouns. In Italian the forms of the direct
object pronouns (i pronomi diretti) are as follows:
| Person |
Singular |
Plural |
|
| 1st. person |
mi » me |
ci » us |
| 2nd. person familiar |
ti » you |
vi » you |
| 2nd. person polite* |
La » you (m. and f.) |
Li » You (m.) |
| Le » You (f.) |
| 3rd. person |
lo » him, it |
li » them (m.) |
| la » her it |
le » them (f.) |
These pronouns are used as follows:
1. They stand immediately before the
verb or the auxiliary verb in the compound tenses. Examples:
- Li ho invitati a cena » I have invited
them to dinner
- L'ho veduta ieri » I saw her yesterday
- Ci hanno guardati e ci hanno seguiti » They watched us and
followed us
In a negative sentence, the word non must come before the object pronoun.
- Non la mangia » He doesn’t eat it
- Perchè non li inviti? » Why don’t you invite them?
2. The object pronoun is attached to the end of an infinitive. Note that
the final –e of the infinitive is dropped.
- È importante mangiarla ogni giorno » It
is important to eat it every day
- È una buon’idea invitarli » It’s a good
idea to invite them
- Volevo comprarla » I wanted to buy it
3. The Object pronouns are attached to ecco to express here I am, here
you are, here he is, and so on.
- Dov’è la signorina? – Eccola! »
Where is the young woman? – Here she is!
- Hai trovato le chiavi? – Sì, eccole! » Have you found the keys? –
Yes, here they are!
4. The pronouns lo and la are often shortened to l'.
(*) Note that second person polite form pronouns are
capitalized.
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