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Italian
indirect pronouns (pronomi
indiretti)
are used to replace indirect object nouns and answer the question “a
chi?
(to
whom?,
for
whom?). They are:
TI
= A TE (to
you informal)
LE
= A LEI (to
you formal,
for
male and female)
GLI
= A LUI (to
him)
LE
= A LEI (to
her)
CI
=
A NOI (to
us)
VI
=
A VOI (to
you plural)
GLI
= A LORO (to them)
Indirect
pronouns, like direct pronouns, must be placed before the
verb, unless the verb is in the infinitive form
(-ARE, -ERE, -IRE).
In this case, the pronoun must be attached to the infinitive after
dropping the final vowel -E.
- Non ho tempo di comprarle il regalo. (I don't have time to buy her a present)
Indirect pronouns are the same we use with the verb “piacere”
and the verbs that behave like “piacere” (bastare, mancare,
occorrere, sembrare).
Other Italian verbs that
require indirect object pronouns are the verbs followed
by preposition A.
Some examples:
Dare (to
give)
Dire (to
say)
Domandare (to ask)
Insegnare (to
teach)
Mostrare (to
show)
Offrire (to
offer)
Portare (to
bring)
Preparare (to
prepare)
Prestare (to
lend)
Regalare (to
give a gift)
Restituire (to
give back)
Rispondere (to
answer)
Scrivere (to write)
Telefonare (to
telephone)
Examples:
- Che cosa regali a Mario? (What gift do you give to Mario?)
Che cosa gli regali? (gli = to him = to Mario)
- Domani telefono a Sabrina. (I will call Sabrina tomorrow)
Le telefono domani. (le = to her = to Sabrina)
- Ho scritto una lettera ai miei amici. (I wrote a letter to my friends)
Gli ho scritto una lettera. ( gli = to them = to my friends)