Italian All-in-One For Dummies (103 page)

Italian conveys a direct object or the pronoun
ne
and an indirect object together by forming double pronouns.
The indirect object pronoun always precedes the direct object pronoun or
ne.
Remember to change the indirect object pronouns
mi, ti, ci,
and
vi
into
me, te, ce,
and
ve.

Meeting the Subject Pronouns

Grammatically speaking, six persons can perform an action: the first, second, and third persons, singular and plural. But there are more pronouns than persons because the third person differentiates among masculine, feminine, and neuter (it) forms.

Table 3-1
lists the subject pronouns.
Note:
In Italian, when animals are seen as possessing feelings and even a personality, you use pronouns once reserved for human beings:
lui
(
he
),
lei
(
she
), and
loro
(
they
).

Table 3-1 Subject Pronouns

The traditional subject pronouns for people are
egli
(
he
),
ella
(
she
), and
essi/esse
(
they
). You may find them used in older writings and formal settings. Today, the third person pronouns
lui, lei,
and
loro
are used as pronouns.

The following sections show you when to use subject pronouns and how to use them informally and formally.

Knowing when to use subject pronouns

Most of the time, you don't use subject pronouns in Italian because the verb conjugations indicate the subject. In the sentence
Guardano la televisione tutte le sere
(
They watch TV every night
), you know the subject is
loro
(
they
) because
guardano
is conjugated in the third person plural form. (See verb conjugation details in Book IV.)

At times, you do need subject pronouns, such as when you're

Emphasizing what a particular person is doing:
Io darò le dimissioni
(
I'm going to resign
).

Emphasizing one subject over another (often inverting the word order):
Decido io, non tu, a che ora devi tornare a casa!
(
I'm the one who decides what time you must come home, not you!
)

Forming a sentence that may generate confusion about the subject:
Lui capisce cose che io non capisco
(
He understands things that I don't understand
).

Adapting subject pronouns for informal and formal usage

You can address people informally or formally in Italian, altering your pronoun and verb choice accordingly:

Informally, you address people with the following pronoun-verb combinations:

•
tu
(
you
[singular]) + the verb in the second person singular:
[Tu] vieni alla partita, Andrea?
(
Are you coming to the game, Andrea?
)

•
voi
(
you
[plural]) + the verb in the second person plural:
[Voi] venite alla partita, Andrea e Giacomo?
(
Are you coming to the game, Andrea and Giacomo?
)

Formally, you address people with the following pronoun-verb combinations:

•
Lei
(
you
) with either a man or a woman + the verb in the third person singular:
[Lei] viene alla partita, Signore/Signora?
(
Are you coming to the game, Sir/Madam?
)

•
Loro
(
you
) + the verb in third person plural:
[Loro] vengono alla partita, Signori/Signore/Signori e Signore?
(
Are you coming to the game, Ladies/Gentlemen/Ladies and Gentlemen?
)

Nowadays you can use
voi
(
you
[plural]) to address more than one person informally or formally, as in
[Voi] venite alla partita, Signori/Signore/Signori e Signore?
(
Are you coming to the soccer game, Ladies/Gentlemen/Ladies and Gentlemen?
)

When you address someone formally, you use his or her last name preceded by
Signor
(
Mr.
),
Signora
(
Mrs., Ms.
),
Signorina
(
Miss, Ms.
),
Dottor/Dottoressa
(
Dr.
for all those with a
laurea
or
university degree
),
Ingegner
(
Engineer
),
Avvocato
(
Counselor
), and so on with specific professional titles.