Indirect object nouns and pronouns (i pronomi indiretti) answer the question to whom? or for whom? In English, the word "to" is sometimes omitted:
We gave a cookbook to Uncle John.
We gave Uncle John a cookbook.
In Italian, the preposition a is always used before an indirect object noun:
Ho regalato un libro di cucina allo zio Giovanni. (I gave a cookbook to Uncle John.)
Perché non regali un profumo alla mamma? (Why don't you give Mother some perfume?)
Puoi spiegare questa ricetta a Paolo? (Can you explain this recipe to Paul?)
Indirect object pronouns replace indirect object nouns. They are identical in form to direct object pronouns, except for the third-person forms gli, le, and loro. For all the forms, see below.
|
ITALIAN INDIRECT OBJECT PRONOUNS |
|
PERSON |
SINGULAR |
PLURAL |
|
I |
mi (to/for me) |
ci (to/for us) |
|
II |
ti (to/for you, informal) |
vi (to/for you, informal) |
|
III |
lo, la (to, for him/her) |
li, le (to/for them, masculine/feminine) |
|
|
La (to/for you, formal) |
Li, Le (to/for you, formal, masculine/feminine) |
All indirect object pronouns except loro and Loro precede a conjugated verb, just like the direct object pronouns (loro and Loro follow the verb):
Le ho dato tre ricette. (I gave her three recipes.)
Ci offrono un caffè. (They offer us a cup of coffee.)
Parliamo loro domani. (We'll talk to them tomorrow.)
Similarly, indirect object pronouns attach to infinitives, which lose their final -e:
Non ho tempo di parlargli. (I have no time to talk to him.)
If the infinitive is preceded by a conjugated form of dovere, potere, or volere, the indirect object pronoun may also precede the conjugated verb:
Voglio parlargli./Gli voglio parlare. (I want to talk to him.)
Also note that le and gli are never elided before a verb beginning with a vowel or an h:
Le offro un caffè. (I offer her a cup of coffee.)
Gli hanno detto "Ciao!". (They said "Ciao!" to him.)
The table below provides a few common Italian verbs that are often used with indirect object nouns or pronouns.
|
VERBS THAT TAKE ON INDIRECT OBJECTS |
|
dare |
to give |
|
dire |
to say |
|
domandare |
to ask |
|
(im)prestare |
to lend |
|
insegnare |
to teach |
|
mandare |
to send |
|
mostrare |
to show |
|
offrire |
to offer |
|
portare |
to bring |
|
preparare |
to prepare |
|
regalare |
to give (as a gift) |
|
rendere |
to return, give back |
|
riportare |
to bring back |
|
scrivere |
to write |
|
telefonare |
to telephone |
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