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4.01: I pronomi indiretti

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    Indirect object pronouns

    First of all: what is an indirect object? Anything that can answer the questions To whom? and For whom? is an indirect object, as in Parlo a mio fratello  and Oggi preparo una torta per Luisa, where a mio fratello and per Luisa are indirect objects of the verbs parlare and preparare.  Indirect objects almost always refer to people. Consider the following example:

    • Hai già telefonato alla zia?
    • No, le telefono dopo cena.

    In the example above, le stands for alla zia. We use le to avoid repeating alla zia.  Le is a pronoun, that is, it stands in the place of a noun, in this case, an indirect object. Here is the complete list of indirect pronouns:

    mi = a me  ci = a noi
    ti = a te vi = a voi
    gli  = a lui gli or loro = a loro
    le  = a lei

    Like all pronouns, these pronouns always go before the conjugated verb, i.e.: mi telefoni, gli rispondo, etc.  except for loro. You can either say io gli parlo or io parlo loro [I talk to them].

    However, when there is a verb + an infinitive, it can go either before the conjugated verb or be attached to the end of the infinitive after you have dropped the last letter of the infinite, as in scrivere > scriver. Consider the two possible answers to the following question:

    Hai già scritto al nonno?

    • No, ma gli voglio scrivere presto.
    • No, ma voglio scrivergli presto.

    As you already know, the verb piacere comes with indirect pronouns. Here are more verbs that commonly use indirect objects:

    chiedere (qualcosa) a qualcuno Abbiamo chiesto consiglio a Carlo.
    consigliare (qualcosa) a qualcuno Abbiamo consigliato a Carlo di mangiare più leggero.
    dare (qualcosa) a qualcuno Abbiamo dato la macchina a Carlo.
    dire (qualcosa) a qualcuno Abbiamo detto un segreto a Carlo.
    insegnare (qualcosa) a qualcuno Abbiamo insegnato una lezione a Carlo.
    mandare (qualcosa) a qualcuno Abbiamo mandato un sms a Carlo.
    offrire (qualcosa) a qualcuno Abbiamo offerto una cena a Carlo.
    parlare a qualcuno Abbiamo parlato a Carlo.
    prestare (qualcosa) a qualcuno Abbiamo prestato la bici a Carlo.
    regalare (qualcosa) a qualcuno Abbiamo regalato un braccialetto a Carlo.
    rispondere a qualcuno Abbiamo risposto a Carlo.
    scrivere (qualcosa) a qualcuno Abbiamo scritto una lettera a Carlo.
    telefonare a qualcuno Abbiamo telefonato a Carlo.

    We can also:

    • comprare qualcosa, cucinare qualcosa, fare qualcosa, preparare qualcosa  a / per qualcuno
    • portare [to bring] qualcosa, restituire [to return] qualcosa a qualcuno.

    This page titled 4.01: I pronomi indiretti was last modified on Thu, 10 Mar 2022 21:38:14 GMT and is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Daniel Leisawitz and Daniela Viale via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.