Melody Darling

Pronouns

in Italian language

io, tu, lei, noi, voi, mi, ti, me, te...

About pronouns

Pronouns are just words that replace nouns in a sentence. Instead of saying "my friends" you can just say "they". Italian pronouns also align with the gender and number (singular or plural) of the nouns they replace.

English equivalents are I, you, me, they, them etc...

Different types of Italian pronouns:

Personal
Can be used as a subject (like "io" for "I") or an object (like "mi" for "me").
Possessive
Used to indicate ownership or possession (like "mio" for "my").
Demonstrative
Used to point out specific things (like "questo" for "this").
Relative
Used to connect clauses or sentences (like "che" for "who" or "which").
Interrogative
Used in questions (like "chi" for "who").
Indefinite
Refer to non-specific things or people (like "qualcuno" for "someone").
Reflexive
Used when the subject and the object of the sentence are the same (like "mi" in "mi lavo" for "I wash myself").

Subject Pronouns

I am, You are...

Subject pronouns replace the subject in the sentence. The indicate who is performing the action of the verb.

Pronoun summary:

Italian	English	Examples
Io	I	Io parlo I speak
Tu	You	Tu parli You speak
Lui/Lei	He/She	Lui/Lei parla He/She speaks
Noi	We	Noi parliamo We speak
Voi	You	Voi parlate You speak
Loro	They	Loro parlano They speak

Usage notes:

Subject pronouns are typically omitted in Italian.
- One would typically say Parlo Italiano instead of Io parlo Italiano. The verb conjugation of parlo implies the subject is Io.
- Personal pronouns are typically included to add more emphasis or clarity.
- Other times they are included are with the word anche (also, too). The sentence Anche io parlo Italiano (I, too speak Italian) must include the pronoun.
When addressing someone formally you'd use the pronoun Lei.
- To say "Mr. Smith, are you coming with us? ", on would say "Mr. Smith, Lei viene con noi? "
- The verb uses the third person, singular conjugation, as usual with the pronoun lei.
- Lei is used for both men and women.

Direct Object Pronouns

I bought dinner, I told a story...

Direct objectpronouns replace the direct object noun in a sentence. They agree with the direct object in gender and number and are placed before the verb.

Pronoun summary:

Italian	English	Examples
Mi	Me	Mi senti? Do you year me?
Ti	You	Ti sento. I hear you.
Lo/La	Him/Her	Lo/La sento. I hear him/her.
Ci	Us	Ci senti? Do you hear us?
Vi	You	Vi sento. I hear you.
Li/Le	Them	Li/Le sento. I hear them.

Usage notes:

Direct object pronouns typically go directly before the verb Italian.
- ti vedo - I see you
- lo voglio - I want it
With negative sentences, non is placed before the direct object.
- non ti vedo - I don't see you
- non lo voglio - I don't want it
And sometimes they just get attached to the verb :)
- when used with infinitives, both of these forms are acceptable:
  lo devo imparare - I have to learn it
  devo impararlo - I have to learn it
- when making a command (imprative form):
  chiamalo submito! - Call him right away!
When you want to emphasize or stress the object, you can place it after the verb.
- Lei ama me, non te! - She loves me, not you!

Italian	English	Examples
Me	Me	Lui ama me. He loves me.
Te	You	Lei ama te. She loves you.
Lui/Lei	Him/Her	Io amo lui/lei. I love him/her.
Noi	Us	Lui ama noi. He loves us.
Voi	You	Loro amano voi. They love you.
Loro	Them	Io amo loro. I love them.

Indirect Object Pronouns

I bought him dinner, I told her something...

Indirect objectpronouns replace the indirect object in a sentence. They agree with the indirect object in gender and number and are typically placed before the verb.

Pronoun summary:

Italian	English	Examples
Mi	Me	Carlo mi da un regalo. Carlo gives me a gift.
Ti	You	Il professore ti spiega la lezione. The professor explains the lesson to you.
Gli/Le	Him/Her	Gli/Le scrivo una lettera. I write him/her a letter.
Ci	Us	Ci fai un favore? Can you do us a favor?
Vi	You	Vi mando un abbraccio. I send you a hug.
Gli/Le	Them	Gli/Le offro un passaggio. I offer them a ride.

Usage notes:

Indirect object pronouns typically go directly before the verb Italian.
And sometimes they just get attached to the verb :)
- when used with infinitives, both of these forms are acceptable:
  Le puoi dire tutto.
  Puoi dirle tutto.
- when making a command (imprative form):
  Parlagli!
When you want to emphasize or stress the object, you can place it after the verb.
- Devi dire la verità a lei! - You have to tell her the truth!

Italian	English	Examples
Me	Me	Porta la chiave a me. Bring me the key.
Te	You	Danno il lavoro a te. They give you the job.
Lui/Lei	Him/Her	Ho detto qualcosa a lui/lei. I said something to him/her.
Noi	Us	Ha spiegato tutto a noi. He explained everything to us.
Voi	You	Riservo il mio tempo per voi. I reserve my time for you.
Loro	Them	Ho detto di venire a loro. I told them to come.

Reflexive Pronouns

myslef, yourself...

Reflexive pronouns are used when the subject performs an action on itself, as in a sentence "I wash myself".

English	Italian	example
myself	mi	mi lavo
yourself	ti	ti lavi
himself/herself	si	Lui/Lei si lava
ourselves	ci	ci laviamo
yourselves	vi	vi lavate
themselves	si	si lavano

usage notes:

they look the same as direct object pronouns, except for the third person form si (singular and plural).
they always agree with the subject of the sentence in both number (singular or plural) and person (first, second, third).
tney are placed before a conjugated verb or attached to the infinitive.
if the infinitive is preceded by a form of dovere, potere, or volere, the reflexive pronoun is either attached to the infinitive (which drops its final –e) or placed before the conjugated verb.
- mi lavo (I wash myself)
- voglio lavarmi (I want to wash myself)
- mi voglio lavare (I want to wash myself)

Possessive Pronouns

mine, his, hers, yours, theirs...

Possessive pronouns are words that express ownership or possession and stand in place of a noun that has already been mentioned or is obvious from the context.

Possessive pronouns are similar to possessive adjectives but are used differently. While possessive adjectives (like "mio," "tuo," "suo") are placed before a noun to describe to whom the noun belongs, possessive pronouns replace the noun altogether and agree in gender and number with the noun they replace.

Pronoun summary:

English	Singular M / F	Plural M / F
Mine	mio / mia	miei / mie
Yours	tuo / tua	tuoi / tue
His / Hers / its	suo / sua	suoi / sue
Ours	nostro / nostre	nostri / nostre
Yours	vostro / vostre	vostri / vostre
Theirs	loro / loro	loro / loro

Examples:

Mio
Questa è la sua penna. La mia è persa.
This is his/her pen. Mine is lost.
Loro
I miei gatti sono a casa. I loro sono fuori.
My cats are at home. Theirs are outside.

Relative Pronouns

that, which, who, whom...

Relative pronouns are words used to connect sentences or clauses.

There are two types of relative pronouns: variable and invariable. Like so often in Italian, some change with number or genender and others always remain the same.

Invariable relative pronouns

Che

who, whom, that, which

examples:

Il libro che ho letto era interessante.
The book that I read was interesting.

usage notes:

Che is the most common and widely used relative pronoun.
It can be used both as subject and object, replacing either a person or a thing.
It always stays the same regardless of gender or number.

Cui

whom, which, that, whose

examples:

La ragazza con cui parlo è mia sorella.
The girl with whom I am speaking is my sister.

usage notes:

Cui is used instead of che when it follows certain prepositions.
It always stays the same regardless of gender or number.

Variable relative pronouns

Il quale

whom, which, that, whose

examples:

La ragazza con cui parlo è mia sorella.
The girl with whom I am speaking is my sister.

usage notes:

Il quale means the same as che when used as a relative pronoun, but it is less commonly used.
These are typically used for more specificity and agree in gender and number with the noun they refer to.
- il quale (masculine / singular)
- la quale (feminine / singular)
- i quali (masculine / plural)
- le quali (feminine / plural)
Often used after prepositions.

Indefinite Pronouns

some, someone, no one, something...

Indefinite pronouns are used to refer to non-specific people or things, taking the place of a noun.

Qualcuno

someone, somebody

examples:

Qualcuno ha dimenticato il suo ombrello.
Someone has forgotten their umbrella.

usage notes:

used to refer to an unspecified person
it's always qualcuno when used this way - never changes endings

Qualcosa

something

examples:

Vorrei mangiare qualcosa.
I would like to eat something.

usage notes:

used to refer to an unspecified thing
it's always qualcosa - never changes endings
accepts masculine adjectives
can also use qualche cosa in its place

Nessuno

no one, nobody

examples:

Non c'è nessuno qui.
There's no one here.

usage notes:

used to describe absence of people

Niente / nulla

nothing

examples:

Non ho niente da dire
I have nothing to say.

usage notes:

used to describe absence of people
niente and nulla mean the same thing
it's always niente or nulla - they never change endings

Alcuni / Alcune

some, a few, any

examples:

Hai letto questi libri? Sì, alcuni.
Have you read these books? Yes, some (of them).
Ci sono molte camicie in vendita. Hai comprato alcune?
There are many shirts on sale. Did you buy some/any?

usage notes:

refer to an unspecified number of people or things
useful when you want to specify an indefinite but limited quantity
they agree in gender and number with the nouns they represent
Alcuni is used with masculine nouns
Alcune is used with feminine nouns

Others:

Tutto (everything, all)
Tutto è possibile. (Everything is possible.)
Altri / Altre (others)
They are the masculine plural and feminine plural forms, respectively, of "altro" (meaning "other" or "another").
Ho già tre gatti, ma vorrei altri. (I already have three cats, but I would like others).
Ognuno (everyone, each one)
Refers to every individual in a group.
Ognuno ha i suoi problemi. (Everyone has their own problems.)
Qualsiasi / qualunque (any, whichever, whatever)
Refers to an unspecified person, often used in general statements.
Puoi scegliere qualsiasi libro. (You can choose any book.)
Chiunque (whoever, anyone)
Refers to an unspecified person, often used in general statements.
Chiunque può partecipare. (Anyone can participate.)
Ciascuno (each, every)
Similar to "ognuno," but often used to emphasize individuality within a group.
Ciascuno ha un compito diverso. (Each person has a different task.)

Interrogative Pronouns

who? what? why? where? when?...

Interrogative pronouns are used to ask questions.

Chi

who? whom?

examples:

Chi sei?
Who are you?
Chi viene stasera?
Who is coming tonight?
Di chi stai parlando?
Who are you speaking of?

usage notes:

used exclusively when referring to people
invariable - never changes endings

Che / Che cosa / Cosa

what?

examples:

Che vuoi?
Che cosa vuoi?
Cosa vuoi?
What do you want?

usage notes:

used to ask about things, activities, or ideas
invariable - never changes endings

Quale / quali

which one? which ones? what?

examples:

Quale libro preferisci?
Which book do you prefer?
Quali sono i tuoi libri preferiti?
What are your favorite books?
Quale è il tuo nome?
What (or more litarally "which") is your name?
Quale è il tuo indirizzo?
What (or more litarally "which") is your address?

usage notes:

used when asking someone to choose from a specific set of items or options
also used when one requests information such as a name, telephone number, or address
quale is used with singular nouns
quali is used with plural nouns

Others:

Dove? (where?)
Dove abiti? (Where do you live?)
Quando? (when?)
Quando parte il treno? (When does the train leave?)
Perché? (why?)
Perché sei triste? (Why are you sad?)
Come? (how?)
Come stai? (How are you?)

Demonstrative Pronouns

this, that, these, those...

Demonstrative pronouns are used to point out specific things or people. They must agree in gender (masculine or feminine) and number (singular or plural) with the noun they are referring to.

english	masculine	feminine
this	questo	questa
these	questi	queste
that	quello	quella
those	quelli	quelle

Questo / questa

this

examples:

Questo è il mio amico.
This is my friend (masculine).
Questa è la mia amica.
This is my friend (feminine).

usage notes:

refer to a nearby object or person
questo: singular masculine
questa: singular feminine

Questi / queste

these

examples:

Questi sono i miei libri.
These are my books.
Queste sono le mie scarpe.
These are my shoes.

usage notes:

refer to a nearby objects or people
questi: plural masculine
queste: plural feminine

Quello / quella

that

examples:

Quello è il suo ufficio.
That is his office.
Quella è la loro casa.
That is their house.

usage notes:

refer to a object or person that is farther away (singular form)
quello: singular masculine
quella: singular feminine

Quelli / quelle

those

examples:

Quelli sono i monti.
Those are the mountains
Quelle sono le stelle.
Those are the stars.

usage notes:

refer to a object or person that is farther away (plural form)
quelli: plural masculine
quelle: plural feminine

Impersonal Pronoun

one, you, people, they...

Impersonal pronouns are used to indicate a general, unspecified subject, equivalent to "one," "you," or "people" in English. It's used in statements that apply generally rather than to a specific person.

one, you, people...

examples:

Si mangia bene in Italia.
One eats well in Italy.Or People eats well in Italy (generally).

usage notes:

the impersonal si is the most common impersonal pronoun
when used together with a reflexive verb, the first si becomes a ci
Durante l'estate ci si alza tardi.
During the summer one gets up late.
The impersonal si is not the same from the reflexive si.
Reflexive pronouns are used for actions done by the subject to themselves, while the impersonal "si" is used to make general statements where the subject is not specified.

Others:

Ci
Ci can be used in some expressions to convey impersonal meanings.
Ci vuole pazienza. (It takes patience.)
Uno
Uno can be used similarly to the English "one" as an impersonal pronoun, although it's less common than the impersonal "si."
Uno non può sempre sapere tutto. (One cannot always know everything.)