What are Italian indirect object pronouns and how do you use them?

Italian indirect object pronouns are words such as mi (meaning to/for me), ti (meaning to/for you), or gli (meaning to/for them), that stand in for a phrase with the structure: a (meaning to/for) + noun / noun phrase. For example, you use an indirect object pronoun when you ask someone “Could you do a favor for me?” or “Could you do me a favor?”.

In this post, we’ll talk about what indirect object pronouns are and how to use them in Italian. You’ll see how, like in English, Italian indirect object pronouns come either with or without the preposition. Iniziamo! (meaning Let’s begin!)

In Italian, indirect object pronouns are used in place of a (meaning to/for) + noun. They answer the questions a chi? () or a che cosa? (to/for what?).

In Italian, there are two types of indirect object pronouns:

• unstressed indirect object pronouns

• a + stressed pronoun

Let’s take a look at the forms!

Notice:

• There is no “it” in Italian, instead use gli / a lui (meaning him) or le / a lei (meaning her), depending on the gender of the noun you’re replacing.

• For the unstressed pronoun “them,” we can use either gli or loro, regardless of gender, but loro sounds a bit more old fashioned. The word order is different though!

  Gli racconto una storia. / Racconto loro una storia.

  Translation: I tell them a story.

  Gli goes before the verb, loro goes after the verb

Here’s how to choose whether to use an unstressed or a stressed pronoun for an indirect object:

• Use an unstressed indirect object pronoun for the indirect object if you’re not adding particular emphasis:

• Use a stressed pronoun for the indirect object for emphasis or clarification:

  stressed pronoun

  Non hanno chiesto a me, hanno chiesto a te.

  Translation: They didn’t ask me, they asked you.

There are some verbs that are usually or often followed by an indirect object and, consequently, also take indirect object pronouns. For example:

• Credere a (meaning to believe someone)

  Vi abbiamo creduto fin dall’inizio.

  Translation: We believed you from the beginning.

• Comprare a (meaning to buy something for someone)

  Le ho comprato un accappatoio nuovo.

  Translation: I bought her a new bathrobe.

Unstressed indirect object pronouns most often go before the verb, for example:

However, there are four situations in which indirect object pronouns will sometimes come after the verb instead:

• When you’re using modal verbs such as dovere (meaning have to), potere (meaning can), or volere (meaning want) you have two options:

  1. You can place the indirect object pronoun at the end of the infinitive, attached to it by dropping the “e” from the infinitive ending:

     • modal verbinfinitiveindirect object pronoun

       Devo parlarle.

       Translation: I have to talk to her.
     • modal verbinfinitiveindirect object pronoun

       Volevo comprarvi un bel regalo.

       Translation: I wanted to buy you a nice gift.

  2. You can place it before the verb, as usual:

     Le devo parlare.

     Translation: I have to talk to her.

     Vi volevo comprare un bel regalo.

     Translation: I wanted to buy you a nice gift.

• When using another verb that works with an infinitive, like such as sapere (meaning to know or to be able to), sperare (meaning to hope to), or cercare (meaning to try to), you have the same two options:

  1. Attached to the infinitive

     Ho cercato di spiegargli il congiuntivo.

     Translation: I tried to explain the subjunctive to him.

  2. Before the verb

     Gli ho cercato di spiegare il congiuntivo.

     Translation: I tried to explain the subjunctive to him.

• When using an indirect object with the imperative, the indirect object pronoun is always attached to the end of the imperative verb!

  Parlale stasera!

  Translation: Talk to her tonight!

  Compriamogli un regalo!

  Translation: Let’s buy him a gift!

  Check out our post on Italian imperative verbs to learn more about giving commands in Italian!

• When using a gerund with an indirect object, the indirect object pronoun is always attached to the end of the gerund.

  Parlandole, ho capito molte cose.

  Translation: By talking to her, I understood many things.

  Chiedendogli aiuto finiremo il lavoro prima.

  Translation: By asking them for help we will finish the work sooner.

The steps for using indirect object pronouns in Italian are illustrated by the example below.

Remember that you use an indirect object pronoun instead of an indirect object that has been previously mentioned in the context of the sentence or a conversation. So, let’s start from a sentence that has an indirect object, and show you how to sub in the correct pronoun. Here’s our sentence:

1. We ask ourselves some questions to find the indirect object of the sentence:

   • What is the main action of the sentence? → ha detto

     the verb is dire (meaning to tell)

   • Who does the action? → Luca

     the subject is Luca

   • What did Luca (subject) tell (verb)? → una barzella divertante

     the direct object is una barzella divertante (meaning a fun joke)

   • Who did Luca tell the joke to? → a Marco

     The indirect object is (a) Marco (meaning Marco)

2. We find corresponding pronoun:

   • The subject pronoun for Marco is lui (meaning he)

   • The indirect object pronoun for lui is gli (meaning to/for him)

3. Now we can replace the a + indirect object with an indirect object pronoun! Remember to put the indirect object pronoun before the verb! And the result is… 🥁 🥁 🥁

   subjectindirect object pronounverbdirect object

   Luca gli ha detto una barzelletta divertente.

   Translation: Luca told him a fun joke.

   Look at that lovely indirect object pronoun! ✌ 🎯 🎯 🎯

When an Italian sentence uses both an indirect and a direct object pronoun, the result is a double pronoun → two pronouns combined into a single unit! For example:

Want to learn more? Then check out our post on Italian double pronouns!

• Indirect object pronouns replace the indirect object of a sentence → a noun which would have been introduced by the preposition a (meaning to/for)

• There are four steps to identify the correct IOP:

  1. Find the main verb;

  2. Ask “to/for what?” is the action done;

  3. Check the indirect object pronouns table to find the accurate one in gender and number;

  4. Place the indirect object pronoun before the verb, except with: modal verbs; verb+infinitive; imperative, and gerund.

Ready to master your indirect object pronoun skills? 💪 🧠 Follow the link to access our activities on Italian Indirect Object Pronouns!