Indirect Object Pronouns in Italian

In Brief

Italian indirect object pronouns replace a person introduced by a (“to”): Scrivo a Marco becomes Gli scrivo (“I write to him”). The basic forms are mi, ti, gli, le, ci, vi, gli and they normally come immediately before a conjugated verb: Ti telefono stasera (“I’ll call you tonight”).

Overview

An indirect object is the person who receives something or benefits from an action—in plain language, the person to whom or for whom something is done. In Do un libro a Sara (“I give a book to Sara”), un libro is the direct object (the thing directly affected), while a Sara is the indirect object. Once Sara is already known, Italian can replace a Sara with le: Le do un libro.

These short forms are pronouns: words that stand in for a noun or name. They are especially common with verbs such as dare (give), dire (tell), scrivere (write), telefonare (phone), regalare (give as a gift), and mostrare (show). This is a core A1 pattern because ordinary Italian conversation constantly uses forms such as mi piace, ti dico, and gli scrivo.

English is not always a reliable guide. English can say “I call her” without “to,” but Italian uses telefonare a qualcuno, so “I call her” is Le telefono. Learn the Italian verb together with its pattern rather than translating one word at a time.

How It Works

The basic forms

Person meant	Indirect pronoun	Usual English meaning	Full form for emphasis
me	mi	to/for me	a me
you, singular informal	ti	to/for you	a te
him	gli	to/for him	a lui
her	le	to/for her	a lei
you, singular formal	Le	to/for you	a Lei
us	ci	to/for us	a noi
you, plural	vi	to/for you all	a voi
them	gli; also loro	to/for them	a loro

The first six unstressed forms resemble the direct object pronouns, but third-person forms reveal the difference most clearly:

• Lo vedo. — “I see him.” (lo is direct: no a)
• Gli parlo. — “I speak to him.” (gli is indirect: parlare a)
• La vedo. — “I see her.”
• Le parlo. — “I speak to her.”

For more than one recipient, gli is normal in contemporary speech and widely used in writing: Gli mando un messaggio can mean “I send him a message” or “I send them a message.” The older construction loro follows the verb—Mando loro un messaggio—and now sounds formal or literary. A loro remains natural when you need emphasis or clarity: Mando un messaggio a loro, non a voi.

Replacing an a + person phrase

Start with the full phrase and identify the recipient:

1. Marta racconta la storia ai bambini.
2. Ai bambini means “to the children.”
3. Replace it with gli: Marta gli racconta la storia.

The preposition a disappears when you use the short pronoun. Do not say a gli in this construction. The pronoun already contains the idea of “to” or “for.”

Not every phrase translated with English “for” is automatically an indirect object, and not every English verb has the same structure in Italian. The safest question is: Does the Italian verb take a qualcuno?

Italian verb pattern	Example with a named person	With a pronoun
dare qualcosa a qualcuno	Do le chiavi a Paolo.	Gli do le chiavi.
dire qualcosa a qualcuno	Dico tutto a Lucia.	Le dico tutto.
scrivere a qualcuno	Scrivo a mia madre.	Le scrivo.
telefonare a qualcuno	Telefono ai miei amici.	Gli telefono.
chiedere qualcosa a qualcuno	Chiedo un favore a Luca.	Gli chiedo un favore.

Position before a conjugated verb

A conjugated verb is a verb changed to match its subject or tense, such as scrivo, hai detto, or telefoneremo. The indirect pronoun normally goes directly before it:

• Mi racconta tutto. — “She tells me everything.”
• Non ti credo. — “I don’t believe you.”
• Gli abbiamo scritto ieri. — “We wrote to them/him yesterday.”

In a compound tense, it comes before the helping verb avere or essere: Le ho telefonato, not Ho le telefonato. Unlike a preceding direct object pronoun, an indirect pronoun does not normally make the past participle agree: Le ho scritto due lettere.

Attached to an infinitive

An infinitive is the dictionary form, such as dire, scrivere, or telefonare. When the pronoun attaches to an infinitive, the final -e drops:

• dire + ti → dirti
• scrivere + gli → scrivergli
• telefonare + le → telefonarle

With a modal verb such as potere (can), volere (want), or dovere (must), both positions are generally possible:

• Ti posso telefonare dopo.
• Posso telefonarti dopo.

Both mean “I can call you later.” Do not use both positions in the same clause.

Commands and other attached forms

With a positive command, the pronoun normally attaches to the verb:

• Dimmi la verità! — “Tell me the truth!”
• Scrivigli domani. — “Write to him/them tomorrow.”
• Telefonatele subito. — “Call her immediately.”

You will also see attachment to a gerund (the -ando/-endo form expressing an ongoing accompanying action): Parlandogli, ho capito il problema (“By talking to him, I understood the problem”). These attached patterns can be learned after the basic before-the-verb rule.

Short pronouns versus stressed forms

The short forms are neutral and usually unstressed: Mi parla spesso (“She often talks to me”). Use a me, a te, a lui, a lei, a noi, a voi, a loro when contrasting, emphasizing, or coordinating people:

• Ha telefonato a me, non a te. — “She called me, not you.”
• Scrivo a Luca e a lei. — “I’m writing to Luca and her.”
• Questo regalo è per lui. — “This gift is for him.”

That final example also shows an important limit: after a preposition such as per, use a stressed pronoun (per me, per te, per lui), not an indirect clitic such as mi or gli.

Examples in Context

Italian	English	Note
Ti scrivo una lettera.	I’m writing you a letter.	ti = to you
Gli telefono dopo cena.	I’ll call him after dinner.	Italian telefonare takes a
Le regalo un libro.	I’m giving her a book as a gift.	le = to her
Ci dice sempre la verità.	He/She always tells us the truth.	ci = to us
Puoi mandarmi l’indirizzo?	Can you send me the address?	Attached to the infinitive
Vi mostro la mia stanza.	I’ll show you all my room.	vi addresses more than one person
Non gli abbiamo ancora risposto.	We haven’t replied to him/them yet.	Before the helping verb
Signora, Le posso fare una domanda?	Ma’am, may I ask you a question?	Formal singular “you”
Dammi cinque minuti.	Give me five minutes.	Attached to a positive command
Il cameriere ci porta il conto.	The waiter brings us the bill.	Recipient/beneficiary
Gli piace molto questa città.	He/She likes this city very much.	Literally, the city is pleasing to him/her
Ho spiegato il problema a loro, non a voi.	I explained the problem to them, not to you.	Stressed form for contrast

Common Mistakes

Keeping a before the short pronoun

• Wrong: A gli scrivo domani.
• Right: Gli scrivo domani.
• Why: Gli already replaces a lui or a loro. Use either the short pronoun or the full phrase: gli or a lui, not both in a neutral sentence.

Copying English verb structure

• Wrong: La telefono stasera.
• Right: Le telefono stasera.
• Why: English “call her” is direct, but Italian says telefonare a qualcuno. Because her is the recipient after a, use indirect le.

Confusing gli and le

• Wrong: Gli scrivo ogni giorno. (meaning “I write to her”)
• Right: Le scrivo ogni giorno.
• Why: In the basic singular system, gli means “to him” and le means “to her.” Some regional or colloquial speech blurs this distinction, but learners should preserve it in standard Italian.

Putting the pronoun after an ordinary conjugated verb

• Wrong: Scrivo ti domani.
• Right: Ti scrivo domani.
• Why: Before a normal conjugated verb, the pronoun comes first. It attaches after infinitives and positive commands: scriverti, scrivimi.

Using a short clitic after a preposition

• Wrong: Questo è per mi.
• Right: Questo è per me.
• Why: After an explicit preposition such as per, con, or da, use the stressed forms: me, te, lui/lei, noi, voi, loro.

Forcing an indirect pronoun with every a phrase

• Wrong: Gli penso spesso. (for “I often think of him”)
• Right: Penso spesso a lui.
• Why: Pronoun choice depends on the verb and construction, not merely on seeing a. With pensare a referring to a person, standard Italian normally keeps the stressed phrase a lui/a lei.

Usage Notes

Gli for “them.” Contemporary Italian commonly uses gli for both masculine and feminine plural recipients: Gli ho detto di aspettare (“I told them to wait”). Context usually makes the meaning clear. The post-verbal loro—Ho detto loro di aspettare—is correct but markedly more formal. Use a loro when contrast matters.

Formal Le. Le is the indirect form of polite singular Lei: Le mando il documento, professore. The capital letter is a courtesy convention that also distinguishes formal Le from feminine le. Lowercase is common in modern writing, but capitalization remains useful in formal correspondence. The verb still uses third-person singular forms.

People, things, and ci. These pronouns most clearly replace recipients who are people or person-like groups. For a thing or place introduced by a, Italian often uses ci instead: Penso al lavoro → Ci penso (“I’m thinking about work”). That is a broader use of ci, not the basic “to us” meaning taught here.

Possession and personal involvement. Italian sometimes uses an indirect pronoun where English uses a possessive: Mi hanno rubato il portafoglio means “They stole my wallet” (literally, “They stole the wallet from/to me”). This makes the affected person prominent and is very natural with body parts and personal belongings.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

You do not need to master the following combinations at A1, but you will meet them often.

Combined object pronouns

When an indirect pronoun appears with a direct object pronoun, its form changes: mi → me, ti → te, ci → ce, vi → ve. Third-person combinations use glie-:

Separate meaning	Combined form	Example	Meaning
to me + it	me lo	Me lo spieghi?	Will you explain it to me?
to you + it	te lo	Te lo mando.	I’ll send it to you.
to us + it	ce lo	Ce lo racconta.	He/She tells it to us.
to him/her/them + it	glielo	Glielo regalo.	I give it to him/her/them.
to him/her/them + them	glieli / gliele	Glieli porto domani.	I’ll bring them to him/her/them tomorrow.

In compound tenses, a combined direct object pronoun can trigger agreement with the past participle: La lettera? Gliel’ho mandata ieri (“The letter? I sent it to him/her/them yesterday”). This agreement belongs to the direct object part (la), not to the indirect recipient.

Negative commands

With an informal singular negative command, both placements occur:

• Non dirgli niente.
• Non gli dire niente.

Both mean “Don’t tell him/them anything.” Other command persons follow their own placement patterns, so treat this as part of the wider topic of Italian imperatives rather than as an A1 exception to memorize immediately.

Doubling for emphasis

Standard neutral Italian normally chooses either gli or a lui. In speech, however, you may hear a doubled structure such as A me mi piace. It is widespread and can mark a topic or strong personal contrast, but traditional school grammar often criticizes it. In careful neutral writing, prefer A me piace for emphasis or Mi piace without emphasis.

Practice Tips

1. Learn whole verb frames. Put telefonare a qualcuno, scrivere a qualcuno, and dare qualcosa a qualcuno on your flashcards. Then replace the person: a Marco → gli, a Giulia → le, ai miei amici → gli.
2. Transform one sentence through all persons. Start with Mandi un messaggio a me and say Mi mandi un messaggio. Continue with ti, gli, le, ci, and vi. This trains meaning and position together.
3. Listen for the word before the verb. In a short Italian dialogue, pause at phrases such as ti dico, mi piace, or gli ho scritto. Identify who receives or experiences the action, then repeat the whole phrase aloud.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Subject Pronouns — helps you distinguish the person doing the action from the person receiving it.