Italiano — Indirect object pronouns
Indirect object pronouns replace the person to/for whom something is done — the one you would mark with a in a full phrase (a Marco, a mia madre). Italian has an unstressed (clitic) set that sits right before the verb: mi, ti, gli, le, ci, vi, and gli (or loro) for the plural.
How it works
The unstressed pronoun goes immediately before a conjugated verb and stands in for a + person: instead of Scrivo a Marco you say Gli scrivo, instead of Telefono a Laura you say Le telefono. Note that gli covers both "to him" and, informally, "to them"; the fully explicit plural loro follows the verb: Parlo loro.
Examples
| Clitic | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| mi | to me | Mi telefoni stasera? |
| ti | to you (sing.) | Ti do il mio numero. |
| gli | to him | Gli scrivo una mail. |
| le | to her | Le regalo dei fiori. |
| ci | to us | Ci offrono un caffè. |
| vi | to you (pl.) | Vi spiego la regola. |
| gli (loro) | to them | Gli parlo domani. / Parlo loro domani. |
Good to know
Don't confuse the indirect forms with the direct object pronouns lo/la/li/le. The overlap is le: as an indirect pronoun it means "to her" (Le telefono = I call her), but as a direct pronoun le means "them" (feminine): Le compro = I buy them. Also, the verb decides the case — many Italian verbs take an indirect object where English uses a direct one: telefonare a qualcuno, rispondere a qualcuno, piacere a qualcuno, so Le telefono, Gli rispondo, Mi piace.