Italian All-in-One For Dummies (105 page)

If the verb is in the infinitive, imperative, or gerund form, you attach the pronoun to the verb. When attached to the infinitive, the final
-e
is dropped.

• Infinitive:
Ti piacerebbe comprare la borsa? Sì, mi piacerebbe comprarla
(
Would you like to buy the purse? Yes, I would like to buy it
).

• Imperative:
Porta i bambini al mare!
(
Take the children to the beach!
)
Portali al mare!
(
Take them to the beach!
)

• Gerund:
Avendoli preparati (i panini), li ho portati al mare
(
Having made the sandwiches, I took them to the beach
).

When using the direct object pronouns
lo
and
la
before a verb that begins with a vowel, you can drop
-o
or
-a
and replace it with an apostrophe (
l'
), or you can keep them as they are, as in
Bianca lo/l'aspetta
(
Bianca's waiting for him
).

When using a direct object pronoun with a compound tense (see Book V for details), the past participle agrees in gender and number with the pronoun. Here are some examples:

Hanno ricevuto la lettera? No, non (la) l'hanno ancora ricevuta.
(
Did they receive the letter? No, they didn't receive it yet.
)

Avete fatto i compiti? Li abbiamo fatti!
(
Did you do your homework? We did [it]!
)

Investigating Indirect Object Pronouns

Indirect object pronouns refer to living beings. They're used with transitive verbs and answer the question
a chi?
(
to whom?
) Prepositions used with indirect objects can include
a/per/con
(
to/for/with
) + a person or animal; see these examples:

Scrivo a mia madre ogni giorno
(
I write to my mother every day
) becomes
Le scrivo ogni giorno
(
I write to her every day
).

Telefono a Luigi una volta alla settimana
(
I call Luigi once a week
) becomes
Gli telefono una volta alla settimana
(
I call him once a week
).

Table 3-4
lists the indirect object pronouns that you generally place before the verb or attach to it when the verb is an infinitive, an imperative, or a gerund.
Note:
The
loro
form always follows the verb, as in
Ho detto loro quello che pensavo
(
I told them what I was thinking
).

Table 3-4 Indirect Object Pronouns

Note the following nuances of the indirect object pronouns:

In the third person plural form, you use
gli
for both masculine and feminine forms.
Compro un regalo per le mie figlie
(
I'm buying a gift for my daughters
) becomes
Gli compro un regalo
(
I'm buying a gift for them
). You also can use
gli
for only males or male and female combined, as in
Cosa regali ai nonni per Natale? Gli regalo una radio
(
What are you giving our grandparents for Christmas? I'm giving them a radio
).

When you address people formally, you use the
Le
form in the third person singular for both male and female, as in
Signore/Signora, Le apro io la porta
(
Sir/Madam, I'll open the door for you
).

Note that the third person plural form has two options that mean the same thing. The
gli
form is used more frequently in modern spoken Italian, although the
loro
form is still acceptable. In the plural, you may use the pronoun
Loro
after the verb with or without a preposition, as in
Signori/Signore/Signore e Signori, apro Loro la porta/apro la porta per Loro
(
Gentlemen/Ladies/Ladies and Gentlemen, I'll open the door for you
).

Contrary to the rules of direct object pronouns earlier in this chapter, the past participle in compound tenses doesn't agree in gender and number with the indirect object pronoun. Rather, the past participle remains unchanged; see this example:

Avete telefonato ad Adriana?
No, non le abbiamo telefonato.
(
Did you call Adriana? No, we didn't call her.
)

Forming Double Pronouns

Italians say things quickly and take for granted that the listener understands what they're talking about after they've mentioned something once. The language accommodates this through double pronouns, which, like the other pronouns covered in this chapter, are placed either before the verb or attached to the infinitive, imperative, or gerund. You form double pronouns by combining the indirect object pronouns (
mi, ti, gli, le, ci, vi,
and
gli
) with
the direct object pronouns, usually in the third person singular and plural (
lo, la, li,
and
le
). You use double pronouns when you want to convey both a direct object and an indirect object together.

When combining
gli
+
lo, la, li
or
le,
you connect them with an
e: gli
e
lo, gli
e
la, gli
e
li, gli
e
le.