Indirect Object Pronouns
The direct object in a sentence answers the question what? or whom? in relation to the verb. The indirect object nouns and pronouns answer the question to whom? or for whom? in relation to the verb. In English, the word “to” is often omitted: “We gave Paul a watch,” instead of “We gave a watch to Paul.” In Italian, the preposition a is always used before an indirect object noun. It goes without saying that if an article precedes the noun, then we must use an articulated preposition.
Indirect object pronouns (i pronomi indiretti) replace indirect object nouns. They are identical in form to direct object pronouns, except for the third person forms gli, le, and loro.
Singular |
Plural |
mi (to/for) me mee |
ci (to/for) us chee |
ti (to/for) you tee |
vi (to/for) you vee |
Le (to/for) you (formal m. and f.) leh |
Loro (to/for) you (formal, m. and f.) LAW-roh |
gli (to/for) him lyee (like ll sound in the English word million) |
loro (to/for) them LAW-roh |
le (to/for) her leh |
Indirect object pronouns, like direct object pronouns, precede a conjugated verb, except for loro and Loro, which always follow the verb.
I'm giving her the keys.
Le do le chiavi.
leh doh leh kee-YAH-vee
They offer us an aperitif.
Ci offrono un aperitivo.
chee OHF-froh-noh oon ah-peh-ree-TEE-voh
We'll talk to them this evening.
Parliamo loro stasera.
pahr-lee-YAH-moh LAW-roh stah-SAY-rah
I'm giving him a watch.
Gli regalo un orologio.
lyee reh-GAH-loh oon oh-roh-LOH-joe
Note that mi and ti change to m' and t' in front of a vowel or silent h.
QUESTION
Should I use an indirect object pronoun or a direct object pronoun? If the object is preceded by a preposition, that person/thing is an indirect object. If it is not preceded by a preposition, it is a direct object.
