Direct Objects and Direct Object Pronouns by Ronald Glenn Wrigley
A direct object answers the question “whom?” or “what?” in relation to the action of the verb. For example, take the sentence “John reads a book.” The direct object in this sentence — a book — answers the question “What does John read?” In the sentence “I see John,” the direct object — John — answers the question “Whom do I see?” It is important to bear in mind that not all verbs can take a direct object. Only a verb that can perform an action on someone or something can take a direct object. These verbs are commonly referred to as transitive verbs. Intransitive verbs, on the contrary, cannot be followed by a direct object.
Transitive and Intransitive Verbs
The following verbs are transitive, meaning they can take a direct object:
leggere (to read) |
restituire (to give back) |
mangiare (to eat) |
bere (to drink) |
prendere (to take) |
offrire (to offer) |
The following verbs are intransitive, meaning they cannot take a direct object:
andare (to go) |
venire (to come) |
partire (to depart) |
arrivare (to arrive) |
Exercise 10-1</h2>
<p>Underline the direct objects in each sentence. Not all of the sentences will contain a direct object.</p>
<ul>
<li><p><B>Marco scrive una lettera.</B></p></li>
<li><p><B>Voglio mangiare la pizza.</B></p></li>
<li><p><B>Il treno parte alle otto.</B></p></li>
<li><p><B>Telefono all'agenzia di viaggi.</B></p></li>
<li><p><B>Mio figlio ha molti amici.</B></p></li>
</ul>
<p>To avoid repeating the same word over and over, we can use a direct object pronoun in the place of the direct object. The direct object pronouns in Italian are:</p>
<p><B>Table 10-1</B></p>
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<p></p>
<p>In some cases, knowing which pronoun to use is a bit more complicated in Italian than it is in English. The equivalent of “it” can be either <B>lo</B> (used for a masculine singular direct object) or <B>la</B> (used for a feminine singular direct object); the pronouns <B>li</B> (masculine plural) and <B>le</B> (feminine plural) are used to mean “them.”</p>
</div>
<p>In Italian, the direct object pronoun is always placed before the conjugated verb. When the sentence is negative (using the word <B>non</B>), the direct object pronoun is placed between the <B>non</B> and the conjugated verb.</p>
<table width="100%" frame="all">
<tgroup cols="2">
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<colspec colname="col2" colnum="2"/>
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<td><p>He doesn't eat it.</p></td>
<td><p><B>Non<B> la</B> mangia.</B></p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><p>Why don't you invite them?</p></td>
<td><p><B>Perché non<B> li</B> inviti?</B></p></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</tgroup>
</table>
<p>Note that <B>mi, ti, lo</B>, and <B>la</B> change to <B>m', t'</B>, and <B>l'</B> in front of a vowel or silent <B>h</B>.</p>
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