ILGUR: Italian Language, Grammar and Usage Resource

Double object pronouns (i pronomi doppi) in Italian complicate and confuse learners of Italian. It is important to remember that, when using direct and indirect object pronouns together, certain rules must be applied:

1. When double object pronouns are used, they
   
   • precede conjugated verbs
   • attach to ecco
   • attach to infinitives
   • attach to commands (except the formal commands and negative commands).

2. The indirect object precedes the direct object. Note that the indirect objects change when combined with direct object pronouns (see chart below — click to enlarge):
   
3. Note that direct object pronouns will elide with conjugated forms of avere (ho, hai, ha and hanno). This applies to lo, la and the combined gli- forms:

   Mi ha detto la verità.
   He told me the truth.

   Me l’ha detta.
   He told it to me.

   Ti hanno sparato un proiettile.
   They shot a bullet at you.

   Te l’hanno sparato.
   They shot it at you.

   Gli hanno dato un regalo.
   They gave him a gift.

   Gliel‘hanno dato.
   They gave it to him.

4. Direct objects influence the past participle in compound tenses, even when they are combined. Indirect objects never influence the gender and number of past participles:

   Ho scritto una lettera a Marco.
   I wrote Marco a letter.
   
   L’ho scritta a Marco. [L' = la lettera *note how scritto becomes scritta]
   I wrote it to Marco.
   
   Gli ho scritto una lettera.
   I wrote him a letter.
   
   Gliel’ho scritta.
   I wrote it to him.

5. Below are some examples using double object pronouns:

   Ho comprato un vestito per Maria.
   I bought Maria a dress.
   
   Le ho comprato un vestito.
   I bought her a dress. [her = Maria]

   L’ho comprato per Maria.
   I bought it for Maria.

   Gliel’ho comprato.
   I bought it for her.

   Compraglielo. [her = Maria, it = the dress]
   Buy her it.
   
   Devi comprarglielo. [her = Maria, it = the dress]
   You have to buy her it.

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Direct and indirect objects confuse many people because it is often something that confuses us even in English. In this post, I will try to combine some English grammar with Italian grammar to make learning the use of direct and indirect object pronouns a bit easier!

In English, a direct object is a noun or pronoun that receives the action of the verb. Consider this sentence in English and Italian:

John ate the apple.
Giovanni ha mangiato la mela.

In both sentences, the apple (la mela) is the direct object because it receives the action of the verb (whereas John is the doer of the action — which makes him the subject of the sentence). In the next sentence, we will have a direct object and an indirect object. An indirect object indicates to whom or for whom the action is done and who/what receives the direct object.

I wrote Marie a letter.
Ho scritto a Maria una lettera.

The direct object is indicated in green. | The indirect object is bolded.

As you can see, Maria is the indirect object because she is the receiver of the direct object and an indirect recipient of the action. In English, indirect objects can stand alone without a preposition, but this is not possible. In Italian, when the indirect object is not a pronoun, the preposition, a, must precede it (the pronoun in Italian already conveys the idea of ‘to whom’ or ‘for whom’).

Let’s look at how direct and indirect objects can be replaced by pronouns in the example below:

1. I wrote a letter.
   Ho scritto una lettera.

2. I wrote it. (it = la lettera)
   L’ho scritta.

   (the direct object pronouns la and lo elide with conjugations of avere)
   (the past participle always agrees with the direct object pronouns lo and la)

3. I wrote it to Maria. (it = la lettera)
   L’ho scritta a Maria.

   (the past participle agrees with the direct object pronoun)

4. I wrote a letter to her. (to her = a Maria)
   Le ho scritto una lettera.
   
   (indirect object pronoun never affect the past participle)
5. I wrote it to her.
   Gliel’ho scritta.
   
   (remember that the past participle must agree in gender with the direct object pronoun)

Some verbs in Italian function differently than in English. The following verbs take indirect objects (while in English they would take direct objects). Remember that when the indirect object is a noun or proper noun, that the preposition, a, must precede it:

• chiedere to ask

  Hai chiesto a Giovanni quando comincia la festa?
  Did you ask John when the party starts?

• consigliare to advise

  Il professore ha consigliato agli studenti che devono studiare molte ore per l’esame.
  The professor advised the students that they have to study many hours for the exam.

• credere to believe

  Il poliziotto non ha creduto a mia madre.
  The policeman did not believe my mother.

• dare fastidio to bother

  Mio figlio da fastidio a mio marito quando fa la stessa domanda 10 volte.
  My son bothers my husband when he asks the same question 10 times.
  

• domandare to ask

  Gli domando un piccolo prestito.
  I am asking him for a small loan.
  

• fare bene to do well; to do good

  Gli esercizi fisicali fanno bene a tuo padre.
  The physical exercises are doing your father good.
  

• fare male to do harm

  Quando Giuseppe beve troppo latte, gli fa male.
  When Giuseppe drinks too much milk, it does him harm.

• fare paura to scare

  I gatti neri fanno paura a Luisa.
  Black cats scare Luisa.

• rispondere to respond

  Mio figlio ha risposto al medico che sta bene.
  My son responded to the doctor that he is well.

• somigliare to resemble, to look like

  La Kidman somiglia a Annamaria, vero?
  Nicole Kidman resembles Annamaria, don’t you think?

• telefonare to phone

  Non dimenticare di telefonare a Marco! Chiama da ieri.
  Don’t forget to phone Marco! He has been calling since yesterday.

• voler bene to love, to be fond of

  Voglio bene a Luisa.
  I am fond of Luisa.

Downloads
You can download exercises related to this topic here.
You can download a pdf version of the lesson here.

The indirect object in Italian, as in English, asks a chi or per chi (to whom or for whom) and is typically a person or an animal. In Italian, when the indirect object is not a pronoun, the indirect object is always proceeded by the preposition, a, or sometimes the preposition, per.

This contrasts in English where we can have indirect objects that are not proceeded by a prepositions, such as this example:

• I bought Jane a gift for Christmas.
  Ho comprato un regalo a Giovanna per Natale.

When the indirect object is a pronoun, no preposition need follow. The indirect object pronouns are:

• singolare

  mi = me, to me
  ti = you, to you
  gli = him, to him
  le = her, to her
  Le = you, to you (formal)

• plurale

  ci = us, to us
  vi = you, to you
  gli (loro) = them, to them (m. or f.)

It might be helpful to read the post on double object pronouns, since the indirect objects change form when used with direct object pronouns.

Some verbs in Italian take an indirect object. Here’s a list of some common verbs:

• affezionarsi / to grow fond of

  Si affeziona al nuovo cane.
  She is growing fond of the new dog.
  

• apparire / to appear

  La Madonna di Pompei le è apparsa in sogno.
  The Pompei Madonna appeared to her in a dream.
  

• appartenere / to belong

  Questa macchina appartiene a Gianni.
  This car belongs to Johnny.
  

• assomigliare / to resemble

  Tua madre assomiglia a mia zia.
  Your mother resembles my aunt.
  

• avvicinarsi / to approach

  Mi sono avvicinato al poliziotto per trovare il mio albergo.
  I approached the police office in order to find my hotel.
  

• badare / to look after

  Mia madre bada ai bambini durante il giorno.
  My mother looks after the children during the day.

• credere / to believe
• dare / to give
• dire / to say, to tell
• disubbidire / to disobey
• importare / to matter
• interessare / to interest
• mentire / to lie
• obbedire / to obey
• opporsi / to oppose
• parere / to appear, to seem
• parlare / to speak, to talk
• pensare / to think (of)
• ribellarsi / to rebel against
• rispondere / to answer
• sembrare / to look, to seem
• somigliare / to resemble
• sopravvivere / to survive
• sorridere / to smile (at)
• sparare / to shoot (at)
• telefonare / to phone
• ubbidire / to obey

(more examples to follow this weekend!)

The order in which object pronouns (unstressed) are used is important in Italian. See the chart below:

Direct object pronouns (i pronomi diretti) and indirect object pronouns (i pronomi indiretti) are very similar with some differences. Consult the charts below:

Direct Object Pronouns

singolare
mi = me
ti = you
lo = him (also it, for masculine nouns)
la = her (also it, for feminine nouns)
La = you (formal)

plurale
ci = us
vi = you
li = them (m. plural)
le = them (f. plural)

Indirect Object Pronouns
When indirect objects are a person or thing (that is, anything but a pronoun), the preposition a must be used. For example: Did you phone Giovanna? / Hai telefonato a Giovanna? This is important to remember for verbs that take indirect objects!!

singolare
mi = me, to me
ti = you, to you
gli = him, to him
le = her, to her
Le = you, to you (formal)

plurale
ci = us, to us
vi = you, to you
gli (loro) = them, to them (m. or f.)

REMEMBER: When direct and indirect objects are used together, the game changes! See this post for more on double object pronouns.