I pronomi diretti

mi, ti, lo, la, ci, vi, li, le — and where they go.

Once you know a noun (the book, Maria, the children), you don't want to keep repeating it — you swap in 'it', 'her', 'them'. Italian does the same, but the pronoun goes BEFORE the verb: lo vedo = I see him / I see it. The full set is short: mi, ti, lo, la, ci, vi, li, le.

The eight pronouns

mi = me. ti = you (informal). lo = him / it (m). la = her / it (f). ci = us. vi = you all. li = them (m or mixed). le = them (f). Notice that 3rd-person forms agree in gender and number with the noun they replace — just like in lessons 4–5. The 1st and 2nd person don't show gender.

Where they go — before the verb

Right before the conjugated verb. Vedo Maria → La vedo (I see her). Compro il libro → Lo compro (I buy it). Mangiamo le mele → Le mangiamo (we eat them). With non, the non stays first: Non lo vedo = I don't see him. In questions, same place: Mi senti? = Do you hear me?

With infinitives — glued onto the end

When the verb is an infinitive (the -are / -ere / -ire form), the pronoun gets attached to the END as one word — and the final -e of the infinitive drops. vedere + lo → vederlo (to see him). comprare + la → comprarla (to buy it). ascoltare + li → ascoltarli (to listen to them). This shows up after voglio, devo, posso + infinitive: Voglio vederlo = I want to see him.

Elision: l'ho, l'hai, l'abbiamo

lo and la drop their vowel before ho, hai, ha, abbiamo, avete, hanno (any form of avere starting with a vowel) — replaced with an apostrophe. Lo ho visto → L'ho visto = I saw him / I've seen it. La ho mangiata → L'ho mangiata = I ate it. Plurals li and le never elide: Li ho visti, Le ho viste. (We're not drilling the past tense yet — just so you can read it.)

A peek at past-participle agreement

When you use lo / la / li / le with a past tense like ho visto, the past participle agrees in gender and number with the pronoun: L'ho visto (him / it m), L'ho vista (her / it f), Li ho visti (them m), Le ho viste (them f). You'll meet the past tense properly later — for now just notice that the -o / -a / -i / -e ending shifts.

Examples

Lo vedo.

I see him / I see it.

lo before the verb. Replaces a masculine noun like il libro or a person.

La conosco bene.

I know her well.

la = her / it (f). conoscere = to know (a person).

Li compriamo al mercato.

We buy them at the market.

li for masculine/mixed plural.

Le mangio ogni giorno.

I eat them every day.

le for feminine plural — e.g. le mele (apples).

Mi chiami stasera?

Will you call me tonight?

mi before the verb. chiamare = to call.

Voglio vederlo.

I want to see him.

Infinitive vedere loses its -e, lo glues on.

Non posso comprarla.

I can't buy it (f).

la glued to the infinitive comprare. non stays at the front.

L'ho visto ieri.

I saw him yesterday.

lo + ho elides to l'ho. Past participle is visto (m).