Indirect object pronouns (mi, ti, gli, le, ci, vi, gli/loro)

Domani gli telefono e gli spiego tutto.Tomorrow I'll call him and explain everything to him.

An indirect object is the person an action is directed to, who receives it or is affected by it. In Italian it is introduced by a: Scrivo a Marco (I write to Marco), Compro un regalo a Marco (I buy Marco a present). A complement with per (un regalo per Marco) is not replaced by these pronouns. To avoid repeating the noun, Italian uses an indirect object pronoun, placed before the verb: Gli scrivo. (I write to him.)

Quick shortcut: mi, ti, gli, le, ci, vi, gli. The pronoun replaces a + person and stands before the conjugated verb: Le telefono. Non gli rispondo. Ti do un consiglio. Unlike the direct pronouns, there are only two third-person forms in the singular: gli (to him) and le (to her).

The forms

For "to them", Italian also has loro, which goes after the verb and sounds more formal: Scrivo loro una lettera. In everyday speech, gli is the usual choice. For the formal Lei, see Formal address with Lei.

Replacing a + person

• Scrivo a Marco. → Gli scrivo. (I write to Marco. → I write to him.)
• Telefono ad Anna. → Le telefono. (I call Anna. → I call her.)
• Rispondo ai miei amici. → Gli rispondo. (I answer my friends. → I answer them.)
• Spiego la lezione a voi. → Vi spiego la lezione. (I explain the lesson to you.)

Verbs that take a person with a

Many common verbs work this way: dare (to give), dire (to say), scrivere, telefonare, rispondere, chiedere, regalare, spiegare, mandare, servire, piacere. See The piacere construction: Mi piace il caffè.

Watch out: the Italian verb may take a person with a where your language uses a direct object. Aiutare takes a direct object (Lo aiuto, I help him), but telefonare and rispondere take a (Gli telefono, Gli rispondo).

Negatives and questions

Non goes before the pronoun, and the pronoun stays before the verb in a question:

• Non le scrivo mai. (I never write to her.)
• Mi puoi dare un bicchiere? (Can you give me a glass?)
• Che cosa ti ha detto? (What did he say to you?)

After an infinitive the pronoun can attach to it (Posso darti un consiglio, Devo scriverle), and with the affirmative imperative it follows the verb (Dimmi!). See Position of object pronouns.

In the passato prossimo

The pronoun goes before the auxiliary, and the participle does not agree with an indirect pronoun: Le ho scritto (I wrote to her), not Le ho scritta. Compare L'ho vista (I saw her), with a direct pronoun. See Direct object pronouns.

Common mistakes

• ❌ Lo telefono domani. → ✅ Gli telefono domani. (telefonare takes a, so an indirect pronoun)
• ❌ Gli scrivo for a woman → ✅ Le scrivo. (le is for "to her")
• ❌ Scrivo gli. → ✅ Gli scrivo. (the pronoun goes before the verb)
• ❌ Le ho scritta. → ✅ Le ho scritto. (the participle agrees only with a preceding direct pronoun, not with the indirect le)

Quick check

Replace a + person with a pronoun.

1. Scrivo a Marco. → ____ scrivo.
2. Telefono ad Anna. → ____ telefono.
3. Rispondo ai miei amici. → ____ rispondo.
4. Luca dà un libro a me. → Luca ____ dà un libro.
5. Spiego la lezione a voi. → ____ spiego la lezione.
6. Ho scritto a Maria. → ____ ho scritto.

Key takeaways

• Indirect object pronouns answer to whom? and replace a + person: mi, ti, gli, le, ci, vi, gli.
• Singular third person has two forms: gli (to him) and le (to her); formal Le.
• They stand before the conjugated verb: Gli telefono.
• "To them" is gli in everyday speech, or loro after the verb in more formal Italian.
• With the passato prossimo, the participle does not agree: Le ho scritto.
• Don't confuse them with the direct pronouns: Lo vedo but Gli telefono.