italian direct object pronouns

We learned in an earlier lesson that a pronoun is a part of speech that replaces a noun (person, place or thing) mentioned previously. We also learned the personal or subject pronouns (io, tu, lei, etc.) - pronouns that replace the subject of the sentence - the person, place or thing doing the action.

But many sentences in both Italian and English not only have a subject, they also have an object - a person, place or thing receiving the action. What does it mean for a noun to receive a verb's action? Simple, the noun receiving the action is not the noun doing the verb, but the noun the verb is done to . There are two kinds of object - direct and indirect. We'll learn about indirect objects another time. Here are some examples of direct ones (italicized).

Vince is buying a shirt.

Tony is cutting Lenny’s hair.

Lorenzo is eating some chicken.

In each case, the direct object answers the question What? with regards to the verb.

Vince is buying. - Vince is buying what? - A shirt.

Lorenzo is eating. - Lorenzo is eating what? - Some chicken.

So the noun that answers the question What? about a verb is the direct object.

Now that you know what a direct object is, you're ready to learn how to replace one with a pronoun.

Direct Object Pronouns in English and Italian

English	Italian
me	mi
you	ti
	La (formal)
him	lo
her	la
it	lo (masculine)
	la (feminine)
us	ci
you (plural)	vi
them	li (masculine)
	le (feminine)

One difference between Italian and English direct object pronouns is that the Italian ones go before the verb, not after. For example:

We see her.

La vediamo.

I visit them.

Li visito.

I buy it.

Lo compro.

And that’s all there is to it!