Direct pronouns

Corso d'italiano A1.2, Grammatica, Unità 7

Pronouns often cause problems when learning Italian. In this article we will learn the Italian direct pronouns, what the direct object is, and some common verbs that have the direct object. Learn all about Italian direct pronouns and do the exercise at the end of the article.

INTRODUCTION: WHAT IS THE DIRECT OBJECT

The direct object (it. oggetto diretto) is the object of the sentence that answers the question Chi? Che cosa? (Who? What?). For example, in the sentence Romeo mangia il pesce, il pesce is the direct object:

Romeo mangia il pesce.
Cosa mangia Romeo? – Il pesce.

The direct object is not preceded by a preposition; it follows directly after the verb. That is why it is called direct object.

Romeo	mangia	il pesce
SOGGETTO	VERBO	OGGETTO DIRETTO – CHI? COSA?

The direct object can be expressed by a noun (e.g. il pesce) or a pronoun, which is therefore called a direct object pronoun or simply a direct pronoun (e.g. lo). Pronouns are short words that usually replace a noun to avoid repetition. In the following example, il pesce is replaced by the direct object pronoun lo. The pronoun is placed before the verb.

Romeo mangia il pesce.	Romeo eats fish.
Romeo lo mangia.	Romeo eats it.

ITALIAN DIRECT PRONOUNS

Pronomi diretti

Let’s learn the Italian direct pronouns:

SOGGETTO	PRONOMI DIRETTI
io	mi	me
tu	ti	you
lui \| lei	lo \| la	him, it \| her, you (formal)
noi	ci	us
voi	vi	you (all)
loro	li \| le	them (m \| f)

As you can see, the direct pronouns are easy to remember: The endings of 3rd person singular and plural pronouns are the usual endings of nouns and adjectives:

O (lo) for masculine singular
A (la) for feminine singular
I (li) for masculine plural
E (le) for feminine plural

VERBS WITH DIRECT OBJECT

Many verbs in Italian are followed by the direct object, that is, that the what or the who directly follows the verb. Here is a small list of common verbs with a direct object:

		WITH A NOUN	WITH THE PRONOUN
AMARE	to love	Amo la pizza	La amo
MANGIARE	to eat	Mangio una mela	La mangio
BERE	to drink	Bevo un caffè	Lo bevo
VEDERE	to see	Vedo delle ragazze	Le vedo
GUARDARE	to watch, look at	Guardo la TV	La guardo
ASCOLTARE	to listen to	Ascolto la radio	La ascolto
LEGGERE	to read	Leggo il giornale	Lo leggo
CONOSCERE	to know	Conosco la tua ragazza	La conosco
ORDINARE	to order	Ordino la pizza	La ordino
COMPRARE	to buy	Compro dei libri	Li compro
CHIAMARE	to call	Chiamo mia mamma	La chiamo
RINGRAZIARE	to thank	Ringrazio i miei genitori	Li ringrazio
AIUTARE	to help	Aiuto mia nonna	La aiuto
SEGUIRE	to follow	Seguo il mio cane	Lo seguo
ASPETTARE	to wait	Aspetto mio fratello	Lo aspetto
ACCOMPAGNARE	to accompany	Accompagno mio figlio a scuola	Lo accompagno a scuola

Esempi

Some examples to learn the Italian direct pronouns better.

Romeo ama il pesce. Lo mangia tutti i giorni.	Romeo loves fish. He eats it every day.
Mi piace la pizza. La ordino ogni settimana.	I like pizza. I order it every week.
Conosci i miei genitori? No, non li conosco.	Do you know my parents? No, I don’t know them.
Amo le fragole. Le compro spesso in estate.	I love strawberries. I buy them often in the summer.
Mi aiuti per favore? – Va bene, ti aiuto.	Will you please help me? – All right, I’ll help you.
Ci vedi? Siamo davanti al ristorante. – Sì, vi vedo.	Can you see us? We’re in front of the restaurant. – Yes, I see you.
Signora Rossi, la chiamo più tardi.	Ms. Rossi, I’ll call you later.