10.7 Combined Pronouns Language Lesson

10.7 Combined Pronouns
Language & Culture Lessons
Bentornati! I hope you had fun with all your shopping. Today's topic is somewhat different, perhaps slightly
harder to digest than the grocery shopping of the previous lesson…
The Italian language likes to be practical, and tries to avoid needless repetition of words. This is the reason why
we use a lot of pronouns, which are little words used instead of nouns. So instead than saying “I'll make a
coffee for you”, in the Italian style of speaking we'd say “I'll make it for you”. Once you've mastered how to use
them, your language will sound a lot more natural.
Today's Cultura section is dedicated to looking at the Italian concept of 'home, sweet home'.
Language Lesson
Combined Pronouns
In the Rocket Italian Premium Stage 1 lesson 3.10 you have already seen how a noun can be substituted with a
pronoun. Italians like to do it because it makes life easier! In fact you can even have two pronouns together. It might
look scary but it's actually very simple. First let's quickly review the rule with an example.
Who does what to who?
Maria dà la mela a te
Maria gives the apple to you
Maria la dà a te
Maria gives it to you (swap la mela with the pronoun)
Maria te la dà
Maria gives it to you (swap both pronouns)
In this case you'll notice that la mela is replaced by the pronoun la, following the gender of the swapped noun, and te
replaces a te. Unfortunately in English the translation of the second and the third sentence will be exactly the same.
Maria dà la mela a te-Maria gives the apple to you
Direct & Indirect Object Pronouns
A me = Mi (to me)
Mi
followed by object masc.sing.: lo
me lo
followed by object fem. sing.: la
me la
followed by object masc. pl.: li
me li
followed by object fem. pl.: le
me le
followed by indefinite object : ne
me ne
A te = Ti (to you)
Ti
followed by object masc.sing.: lo
te lo
followed by object fem. sing.: la
te la
followed by object masc. pl.: li
te li
followed by object fem. pl.: le
te le
followed by indefinite object : ne
te ne
A lui, A lei =Gli, le, Le (to him/to her polite form)
Gli, le, Le
followed by object masc. sing.: lo
glielo
followed by object fem. sing.: la
gliela
followed by object masc. pl.:li
glieli
followed by object fem. pl.: le
gliele
followed by indefinite object : ne
gliene
followed by object masc.sing.: lo
ce lo
followed by object fem. sing.: la
ce la
followed by object masc. pl.: li
ce li
followed by object fem. pl.: le
ce le
followed by indefinite object : ne
ce ne
followed by object masc.sing.: lo
ve lo
followed by object fem. sing.: la
ve la
followed by object masc. pl.: li
ve li
followed by object fem. pl.: le
ve le
followed by indefinite object : ne
ve ne
followed by object masc.sing.:lo
glielo
followed by object fem. sing.: la
gliela
followed by object masc. pl.: li
glieli
followed by object fem. pl.: le
gliele
followed by indefinite object : ne
gliene
A Noi = Ci (to us)
Ci
A Voi = Vi (to you)
Vi
A Loro =Gli (to them)
Gli
Attività!
Following is a little bit of mathematics! You'll need a pen and paper for this. Complete the "addition" of the two
pronouns with the correct word or words. The first one is done for you.
Ci + ne Ce ne
________________
Gli + li
Ti + le
Le + lo
Vi + la
Ti + ne
Mi + lo
Gli + li
________________
________________
________________
________________
________________
________________
________________
Ci + ne
Gli + li
Ti + le
Le + lo
Vi + la
Ti + ne
Mi + lo
Gli + li
Ce ne
Glieli
Te le
Glielo
Ve la
Te ne
Me lo
Glieli
As you can see, the third person singular and plural have exactly the same pronouns.
It looks more difficult than it actually is! Here are some more examples to help you clarify things a bit.
Maria mi offre un gelato
Maria offers me an ice-cream
Maria me lo offre
Maria offers it to me
Ti posso portare la borsa?
Can I bring you the bag?
Te la posso portare?
Can I bring it to you?
Lei ci prenota dei posti
She books some seats for us
Lei ce li prenota.
She books them for us.
Gli porto un caffè
I bring him a coffee
Glielo porto
I bring it to him
Le porto la giacca Dottore
I bring you the jacket Doctor
Gliela porto Dottore
I bring it to you Doctor
Roberto vi legge le notizie
Roberto reads the news to you
Roberto ve le legge
Roberto reads it to you
Roberto vi legge le notizie-Roberto reads the news to you
Attenzione!
When you find combined pronouns in a sentence, the direct and indirect object pronouns always come first. But
when the pronoun follows an imperative or an infinitive, it can be attached to the end of the verb. Here's an example:
Posso portarle la giaccia?
becomes
Posso portargliela? / Gliela Posso
Portare?
I can bring you the jacket (formal)
I can bring it to you (formal)
Attività!
Swap them!
Complete the following sentence by swapping the nouns with the pronouns:
Q1. Maria ti dà la pera
Maria gives you the pear
Q2. Roberto legge il giornale a Isabella
Roberto read the newspaper to Isabella
Q3. Io ti porto la ricetta
I'll bring you the recipe
Q4. Tuo padre ti ha comprato la macchina ieri
Your father bought you the car yesterday
Q5. Gianni compra del vino per noi
Gianni ______ compra
Q6. Giulio ha regalato loro dei cioccolatini
Giulio has gifted them some chocolates
Maria ______ dà
Maria gives it to you
Roberto ______ legge
Roberto read it to her
Io ______ porto
I'll bring it to you
Tuo padre ______ ha comprata ieri
Your father bought it for you yesterday
Gianni buys some wine for us
Gianni buys it for us
Giulio ______ ha regalati
Giulio has gifted them to them
A1. Maria ti dà la pera
Maria gives you the pear
A2. Roberto legge il giornale a Isabella
Roberto reads the newspaper to Isabella
A3. Io ti porto la ricetta
I'll bring you the recipe
A4. Tuo padre ti ha comprato la macchina ieri
Your father bought you the car yesterday
A5. Gianni compra del vino per noi
Gianni buys some wine for us
A6. Giulio ha regalato loro dei cioccolatini
Giulio has gifted them some chocolates
Maria te la dà
Maria gives it to you
Roberto gielo legge
Roberto reads it to her
Io te la porto
I'll bring it to you
Tuo padre te l' (te la) ha comprata ieri
Your father bought it for you yesterday
Gianni ce lo compra
Gianni bought it for us
Giulio glieli ha regalati
Giulio has gifted them to them
Bravo, congratulazioni! I t might take a few revision sessions until you have the pronoun combinations
memorized. That's okay though, there's no rush… take your time to learn it thoroughly and you'll reap the rewards
later on!
Culture
Casa Dolce Casa - Home Sweet Home
All around the world, Italian males are cheekily referred to as mammoni. This term is similar to something like
Mommy's Boy. It's used to describe Italian males who stay at home with their mother's, never leaving the 'nest' until
they marry!
Although this expression is used to poke fun, it actually describes a sad phenomenon that is becoming increasingly
common – economic dependence. Young people simply cannot afford to buy their own home, so they're forced to stay
at home and save money.
Some young people looking for libertà (freedom) from their parents might choose to rent a flat for many years before
taking the plunge into home ownership.
Casa Dolce Casa - Home Sweet Home
To motivate young couples to build their nido d'amore (love nest), the government has approved a sort of tax
concession for la prima casa (the first house).
While the local young people may struggle to meet house prices, lots of foreign celebrities continue to buy
extravagant ville villas in Italy. George Clooney loves his mansion at Lake Como, and Sting retreats to the hills of
Tuscany for song-writing inspiration. It might surprise you to know that many prominent buildings in Rome and
Venice are owned by American business men or companies!
Congratulations! You've mastered combined pronouns. The next lesson is completely different – we'll be learning a
bunch of new words related to banking. You'll learn how to do very important things like withdraw money,
exchange currency, and even open new bank accounts.
Ci vediamo presto ... See you soon!
Maria DiLorenzi
Rocket Italian
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