Indirect object pronouns in Italian — mi, ti, gli, le, ci, vi, gli (or loro) — answer the question "to whom?" or "for whom?" the action is done. Where direct object pronouns replace the thing being acted on (lo vedo — I see him), indirect object pronouns replace the person the action is directed toward (gli parlo — I speak to him, le scrivo — I write to her). The distinction between lo/la (direct) and gli/le (indirect) for the third person is crucial, because choosing the wrong one changes the meaning or produces ungrammatical Italian.
The forms are: mi (to me), ti (to you), gli (to him), le (to her, formal Le to you), ci (to us), vi (to you all), gli (to them — this has replaced the older loro in modern spoken Italian for both masculine and feminine). So Ti do il libro (I give you the book), Le scrivo una mail (I'm writing her an email), Gli telefoniamo domani (We'll call them tomorrow). Many Italian verbs take indirect objects where English uses direct ones, and this mismatch causes a lot of beginner errors. Key verbs to memorize: telefonare a (to phone), parlare a (to speak to), scrivere a (to write to), rispondere a (to answer), dare a (to give to), chiedere a (to ask), dire a (to tell), regalare a (to gift to), piacere a (to be pleasing to — literally "to please"), insegnare a (to teach), mancare a (to be missed by).
Placement works like direct object pronouns: before the conjugated verb (gli parlo), attached to the infinitive (voglio parlargli), imperative affirmative (parlagli!), and gerund (parlandogli). Unlike direct object pronouns, indirect object pronouns do NOT trigger past participle agreement in the passato prossimo: Le ho scritto una lettera (not scritta, because le is indirect). This is a subtle but important distinction — compare with L'ho vista (her, direct object, participle agrees). The exercises below will have you choosing between direct and indirect pronouns based on the verb, replacing full indirect object phrases (a Maria, a Luca) with pronouns, and practicing the many verbs that demand the preposition a. Mastering this topic is essential for natural conversation.
Indirect object pronouns replace the indirect object of a sentence — the person (or thing) that receives the action indirectly. To find the indirect object, ask 'to whom?' or 'for whom?' after the verb. Example: Marco gives a book to Sofia. → To whom does Marco give the book? → To Sofia. 'Sofia' is the indirect object, and 'le' (to her) is the pronoun that replaces it. Common verbs that naturally take an indirect object include: dare (to give), dire (to say/tell), mandare (to send), scrivere (to write), telefonare (to phone), rispondere (to answer), chiedere (to ask), offrire (to offer), portare (to bring), regalare (to give as a gift), spiegare (to explain), insegnare (to teach), prestare (to lend), restituire (to return/give back), mostrare (to show), consigliare (to advise), raccontare (to tell/narrate), credere (to believe), piacere (to please/like), sembrare (to seem), bastare (to be enough), servire (to need/be needed), mancare (to miss/be lacking), dispiacere (to be sorry), interessare (to interest).
| Person | Pronoun | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st singular | mi | to me | Marco mi scrive. (Marco writes to me.) |
| 2nd singular | ti | to you (informal) | Ti mando un messaggio. (I send you a message.) |
| 3rd singular masc. | gli | to him | Gli parlo domani. (I'll speak to him tomorrow.) |
| 3rd singular fem. | le | to her | Le spiego la regola. (I explain the rule to her.) |
| 3rd singular formal | Le | to you (formal) | Le offro un caffè. (I offer you a coffee.) |
| 1st plural | ci | to us | Ci hanno mandato un invito. (They sent us an invitation.) |
| 2nd plural | vi | to you all | Vi racconto una storia. (I tell you all a story.) |
| 3rd plural | gli | to them | Gli restituisco i soldi. (I return the money to them.) |
Indirect object pronouns are usually placed immediately BEFORE the conjugated verb: • Mi dai il libro? (Are you giving me the book?) • Le ho mandato una cartolina. (I sent her a postcard.) • Non ci ha risposto. (He didn't answer us.) With modal verbs (potere, volere, dovere, sapere) and similar constructions, you have TWO options: 1. Before the modal verb: Ti voglio telefonare. / Le devo spiegare la lezione. 2. Attached to the infinitive (dropping the final -e): Voglio telefonarti. / Devo spiegarle la lezione. Both positions are equally correct. The attached form is common in spoken Italian.
Do not confuse indirect object pronouns with direct object pronouns. The key question is 'to whom?' (indirect) vs. 'whom/what?' (direct). Direct pronouns (answer 'whom/what?'): mi, ti, lo, la, ci, vi, li, le Indirect pronouns (answer 'to whom/for whom?'): mi, ti, gli, le, ci, vi, gli Notice that mi, ti, ci, and vi are THE SAME for both direct and indirect. The difference appears in the 3rd person: • Direct: lo (him/it masc.), la (her/it fem.), li (them masc.), le (them fem.) • Indirect: gli (to him), le (to her), gli (to them) Common errors: ✗ La telefono ogni giorno. (WRONG — telefonare takes indirect) ✓ Le telefono ogni giorno. (CORRECT — I phone her every day) ✗ Lo scrivo una lettera. (WRONG — scrivere takes indirect for the person) ✓ Gli scrivo una lettera. (CORRECT — I write him a letter)
A group of verbs in Italian work 'back to front' compared to English. The indirect object pronoun is the person who experiences something, while the grammatical subject is the thing experienced. piacere (to like / literally: to be pleasing to) • Mi piace il caffè. (I like coffee. / Coffee is pleasing to me.) • Ti piacciono questi film? (Do you like these films?) mancare (to miss / literally: to be lacking to) • Mi manchi. (I miss you. / You are lacking to me.) • Gli manca la sua famiglia. (He misses his family.) servire (to need / literally: to be needed by) • Ci serve un dizionario. (We need a dictionary.) • Ti servono le chiavi? (Do you need the keys?) bastare (to be enough / literally: to suffice for) • Mi bastano venti euro. (Twenty euros is enough for me.) • Vi basta questo? (Is this enough for you all?) sembrare (to seem) • Le sembra difficile. (It seems difficult to her.) • Ti sembra giusto? (Does it seem right to you?)
1. 'gli' does double duty: it means 'to him' AND 'to them' in modern Italian. Context makes the meaning clear. 2. Remember: telefonare, rispondere, chiedere, and credere always take an indirect object in Italian — never use a direct pronoun with them. 3. When you see piacere, mancare, servire, or bastare, ask yourself WHO experiences the feeling — that person takes the indirect pronoun. 4. Mi, ti, ci, vi are the same for both direct and indirect — memorise only the 3rd person difference: lo/la/li/le (direct) vs. gli/le/gli (indirect).
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Mi and Ti — First Introduction
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Mi and Ti — Common Verbs
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Mi and Ti — Fill in the Blank
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Mi and Ti — Questions and Negatives
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Mi and Ti — Sentence Practice
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Mi and Ti — Past Tense
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Mi and Ti — Translation Choices
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Mi and Ti — Context Clues
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Mi and Ti — Error Spotting
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Mi and Ti — Group 1 Review
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Gli and Le — Third Person Singular
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Gli and Le — With Various Verbs
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Gli and Le — Fill in the Blank
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Gli and Le — Passato Prossimo
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Gli and Le — Avoiding Confusion
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Gli and Le — More Fill in the Blank
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Gli and Le — Negative Sentences
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Gli and Le — Mixed Persons
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Gli and Le — Error Spotting
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Gli and Le — Group 2 Review
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Ci and Vi — First and Second Person Plural
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Ci and Vi — Fill in the Blank
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Gli (to them) — Third Person Plural
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Plural Indirect Pronouns — Fill in the Blank
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All Plural Pronouns — Choose Correctly
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Plural Indirect Pronouns — Sentence Practice
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All Indirect Pronouns — Choose the Right Person
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Plural Pronouns — Negatives and Questions
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Plural Pronouns — Translation Practice
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Plural Pronouns — Group 3 Review
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Indirect Pronouns with Modal Verbs
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Indirect Pronouns with Modals — Fill in the Blank
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Direct vs. Indirect Object Pronouns
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Direct vs. Indirect — Fill in the Blank
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Indirect Pronouns in Negative Sentences
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Pronouns Attached to Infinitive
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Which Verbs Take Indirect Objects?
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Indirect Pronouns — Mixed Position Practice
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Direct vs. Indirect — Comparison Exercise
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Group 4 Review — Modals, Direct/Indirect, Negatives
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Piacere with Indirect Object Pronouns
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Mancare, Servire, Bastare with Indirect Pronouns
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Sembrare and Dispiacere with Indirect Pronouns
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Mixed — All Indirect Object Pronouns
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Piacere and Mancare — Fill in the Blank
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Error Spotting — All Indirect Pronouns
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Mixed Indirect Pronouns — Fill in the Blank
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Comprehensive Review — All Concepts
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Final Error Spotting — Advanced
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Final Review — All Indirect Object Pronouns
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Mi, ti, gli, le, ci, vi, gli (or loro in formal register). They replace a + noun and answer "to whom?" or "for whom?". Example: "Ho parlato a Marco" → "Gli ho parlato".
They go before a conjugated verb (mi scrive una lettera), attach to infinitives (voglio parlargli), gerunds (parlandogli) and imperatives (parlami!). With modal verbs both positions are allowed (gli voglio parlare / voglio parlargli).
Gli means "to him" (and informally "to them"), le means "to her" or formal "to you". "Gli ho dato un libro" (I gave him a book), "Le ho dato un libro" (I gave her/you a book). Many Italians today use "gli" for both genders in plural, replacing the older "loro".
A2 Topics