Italian subject pronouns (io, tu, lui/lei, Lei, noi, voi, loro)

(Io) parlo italiano. (Lui) parla inglese.I speak Italian. He speaks English.

The Italian subject pronouns — io, tu, lui, lei, Lei, noi, voi, loro — tell you who the subject of the verb is. But notice the parentheses above: in Italian the verb ending already shows who is doing the action, so the pronoun itself is normally left out.

Quick shortcut: io (I), tu (you, informal), lui / lei (he / she), Lei (you, formal), noi (we), voi (you all), loro (they) — and most of the time, you just leave them out.

The pronouns

Only the singular he and she are split by gender: lui and lei. Noi, voi and loro stay the same for any group, so Italian has no separate "all women" form of they the way Spanish has ellas.

Italian usually drops the pronoun

This is the biggest difference from English: the verb ending already shows the subject (in the present tense, parlo means "I speak" and parli means "you speak"), so Italian speakers normally leave the pronoun out.

• ✅ Parlo italiano. — plain and natural
• Io parlo italiano. is grammatical, just usually unnecessary here, a bit like stressing "I" in English when nothing calls for it.

The pronoun comes back when it adds something:

• Contrast: Io preferisco il tè, ma lui preferisce il caffè. (I prefer tea, but he prefers coffee.)
• Emphasis: L'ho fatto io! (I did it! Me, specifically.)
• Short answers and identification: Chi parla? — Io. (Who's speaking? — Me.) / Sono io. (It's me.) / È lui. (It's him.)
• Clarity: lui, lei and the formal Lei all share the same verb form (parla), so the pronoun sometimes appears just to show who is meant: Lei parla molto bene.

Italian has no subject pronoun for "it"

English "it" as a subject doesn't map onto lui or lei. Italian simply leaves the subject out, the same drop-the-pronoun pattern as above:

• ✅ È interessante. (It's interesting.) — no pronoun at all
• ✅ È qui. (It's here.) — no pronoun at all
• ❌ Lui è interessante. for a book or a film → ✅ È interessante.

Italian does have esso and essa for things, but they are rare and mostly bookish, and not how people say "it's interesting."

lui and lei in speech, egli and ella in older writing

In everyday Italian, and in most modern writing, lui and lei are the pronouns for "he" and "she." Older or very formal writing sometimes uses egli and ella instead, and you will meet them in classic literature. As a learner you can use lui and lei everywhere.

tu vs Lei: a preview

Italian has two ways to say "you" to one person: tu (informal) and Lei (formal). In formal correspondence Lei is often written with a capital L to tell it apart from lei (she), though lowercase is also standard. It takes the same verb form as lei: Lei parla can mean "she speaks" or "you speak" (formal). The full picture of when to use each has its own lesson: Formal address with Lei.

voi: "you all"

For "you" with more than one person, Italian uses voi, whether you are talking to friends or to a more formal group. There is no separate informal-versus-formal split for groups at this level.

Common mistakes

• Io parlo italiano ogni giorno. (with no contrast or emphasis in mind) is usually simplified to ✅ Parlo italiano ogni giorno. The pronoun is grammatical, just not needed unless it adds contrast, emphasis or clarity.
• ❌ Lui è interessante. (about a thing) → ✅ È interessante. ("it" as a subject is normally just left out)
• ❌ Loro siete amici. → ✅ Voi siete amici. / Loro sono amici. (loro is "they"; "you all" is voi, and the verb ending has to match: voi siete, loro sono)
• ❌ Marco e Anna? Lei arriva tardi. → ✅ Loro arrivano tardi. (two people take loro and a plural verb)
• Assuming tu is always safe: norms vary by region, age and situation, and with someone you don't know Lei is often the safer choice.

Quick check

Which pronoun (or none) fits?

1. Saying plainly "I speak Italian": "____ parlo italiano." (Io / — no pronoun)
2. Talking about il libro (the book): "____ è interessante." (Lui / — no pronoun)
3. Marco e Anna → "____ arrivano tardi." (Loro / Voi)
4. Talking to two friends: "____ siete simpatici." (Voi / Loro)
5. Contrast: "Io preferisco il tè, ma ____ preferisce il caffè." (lui / — no pronoun)

Key takeaways

• The subject pronouns are io, tu, lui, lei, Lei, noi, voi, loro.
• Italian verb endings already show the subject, so the pronoun is usually left out. It comes back for contrast, emphasis, short answers, or to tell lui, lei and Lei apart.
• English "it" as a subject doesn't map onto lui or lei: Italian just uses no subject.
• tu is informal and Lei is formal for one person; Lei shares its verb form with lei (she). Its own lesson covers when to use which.
• voi is "you all," and loro is "they" for any group; only singular he and she are split by gender (lui / lei).