Pronomi oggetto combinati
In Italian, sentences have often BOTH a direct and an indirect object.
Marco dà la mela a Carlo → “la mela” = direct object = what Marco gives → “a Carlo” = indirect object = to whom Margo gives the apple
Both objects are commonly replaced with pronouns. In fact, all the pronouns we have seen up to now can be combined. Usually, they are combined in pairs according to the following table:
| OGGETTO DIRETTO | NE | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| + | lo | la | li | le | ne | |
| OGGETTO INDIRETTO | mi | me lo | me la | me li | me le | me ne |
| ti | te lo | te la | te li | te le | te ne | |
| gli, le | glielo | gliela | glieli | gliele | gliene | |
| ci | ce lo | ce la | ce li | ce le | ce ne | |
| vi | ve lo | ve la | ve li | ve le | ve ne | |
| RIFLESSIVI | mi | me lo | me la | me li | me le | me ne |
| ti | te lo | te la | te li | te le | te ne | |
| si | se lo | se la | se li | se le | se ne | |
| ci | ce lo | ce la | ce li | ce le | ce ne | |
| vi | ve lo | ve la | ve li | ve le | ve ne | |
| si | se lo | se la | se li | se le | se ne | |
| CI | ci | ce lo | ce la | ce li | ce le | ce ne |
Key Points
- The indirect, reflexive or CI (location/content) pronouns ALWAYS PRECEDE the direct object and NE (quantity/topic) pronouns.
- The indirect, reflexive or CI (location/content) pronouns CHANGE the final “i” into “e”.
- The indirect pronouns GLI and LE (3rd persons singular and plural) CHANGE into “glie-” and COMBINE with the direct or NE pronouns, to form one word.
- PLACEMENT: the pronomi doppi follow the same rules as object pronouns and CI (see rule for placement of CI above).
Dai un regalo a Carlo?
→ “un regalo” = D. O. to be substituted (= LO)
→ “a Carlo ” = I. O. to be substituted (= GLI)
Sì, glielo do. No, non glielo do.
No, non voglio darglielo. No, non glielo voglio dare.
- Given that these pronouns combine either with a direct object or NE, in passato prossimo the past participle of the verb MUST agree in gender and number with the direct object pronoun that preceded it, or NE when it means a quantity.
Hai comprato una torta per Carlo?
→ “una torta” = D. O. to be substituted (= LA)
→ “per Carlo ” = I. O. to be substituted (= GLI)
Sì, gliela ho comprata. No, non gliela ho comprata.
Quante pizze ci hai portato?
→ “quante pizze” = quantity = NE (pizze = f. pl.)
→ “ci” (to us) = Indirect Object = VE (to you in the answer).
Ve ne ho portate tre.
- Singular forms of the direct object pronoun (lo, la) may drop the final vowel before verbs beginning with a vowel or before forms of avere beginning with an “h”.
Hai comprato una torta per Carlo?
Sì, gliel’ho comprata.
No, non gliel’ho comprata.
- CI + direct object pronoun or NE is commonly used with avere in the expressions ce lo, ce la, ce li, ce le, ce ne + avere
– Abbiamo il pane? – Sì, ce lo (l’)abbiamo.
Do we have bread? Yes, we’ve got it.
– Abbiamo il vino? – No, non ce ne (n’)abbiamo più.
Do we have wine? No, we don’t have any left.
Idiomatic expressions with combined pronouns
andarsene (to go away [from])
me ne vado subito (I’m leaving now)
avercela con … (to have it in for someone)
ce l’abbiamo con Mario (we have it in for Mario)
cavarsela (to get by, to manage)
te la cavi sempre (you always get by)
farcela (to make it, to suceed)
ce l’avete fatta (you made it)
godersela (to enjoy it/ life)
sai godertela (you know how to enjoy life)
mettercela tutta (to try hard)
ce l’hanno messa tutta (they tried hard)
prendersela (= to get upset, to take offense)
se l’è presa (he/she took offense)
sentirsela (to be in the mood/ready for)
non me la sono sentita (I wasn’t ready for it)
