The lesson
You already know the indirect pronouns (mi, ti, gli, le, ci, vi: to me, to you, to him…) and the direct ones (lo, la, li, le: it, them). In real conversation you often need one of each: Mi dai il libro? Sì, te lo do. Italian squeezes them into one quick phrase before the verb.
Three things change when they meet. The order is fixed: indirect first. The i of mi, ti, ci, vi and si turns into e. And gli and le merge into glie-, written as one word with what follows: glielo. Everything else follows the pronoun rules you already use.
Indirect first, and i becomes e
When a sentence has an indirect pronoun (to me, to you, to us) and a direct one (it, them), Italian puts them together before the verb, indirect first: Mi dai il libro? → Me lo dai? English says give it to me; Italian says, literally, to-me it you-give.
Before lo, la, li, le and ne, the i of mi, ti, ci, vi becomes e: me lo, te la, ce li, ve le. This always happens: mi lo is never right. The second pronoun still matches the thing: il libro → lo, la penna → la, i biglietti → li, le chiavi → le.
| + lo | + la | + li | + le | + ne | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| mi | me lo | me la | me li | me le | me ne |
| ti | te lo | te la | te li | te le | te ne |
| ci | ce lo | ce la | ce li | ce le | ce ne |
| vi | ve lo | ve la | ve li | ve le | ve ne |
Glielo: to him, to her, to you (Lei)
Gli (to him) and le (to her) both turn into glie- and join the next pronoun as one word: glielo, gliela, glieli, gliele, gliene. Do il libro a Marco → Glielo do. Do il libro a Sara → Glielo do. The difference between him and her disappears, so context does the work.
Formal Le (to you) works the same way, which is why shop assistants ask Glielo incarto? (Shall I wrap it for you?). In everyday Italian, glie- also covers to them: Do le chiavi ai ragazzi → Gliele do.
Never write gli lo or le lo. It’s one word: glielo.
With ne: me ne, te ne, gliene
Ne (some, of it, of them) pairs up in the same way: me ne, te ne, ce ne, ve ne, gliene. Mi dai due biscotti? → Me ne dai due? The number or amount comes after the verb, as usual with ne.
You’ll also hear the pair inside a few everyday verbs, like andarsene (to leave): Me ne vado (I’m off), Se ne va (He’s leaving).
Reflexives: me lo metto, se l’è dimenticato
Reflexive pronouns change in the same way when lo, la, li, le or ne follows: Mi metto il cappotto → Me lo metto. Si lava i capelli → Se li lava. Ci beviamo il caffè → Ce lo beviamo.
In the passato prossimo these verbs keep essere, and the participle agrees with the direct pronoun: Marco si è dimenticato l’ombrello → Marco se l’è dimenticato. Giulia si è messa la giacca → Giulia se l’è messa.
Where the pair goes
With a conjugated verb, the pair goes in front: Te lo dico, Glielo mando. Non comes before it: Non te lo dico.
With an infinitive after a modal, put the pair before the modal or join it to the end of the infinitive, which drops its final -e: Te lo devo dire = Devo dirtelo. Never in between. The gerund, which you’ll meet soon, works the same way: Te lo sto dicendo = Sto dicendotelo.
With tu, noi, voi commands, the pair joins the end: mandamelo, diglielo, portateceli. After da’, di’, fa’ the first consonant doubles (dammelo, dimmelo, fammelo), but glie- never does (daglielo, diglielo). In the negative: non dirglielo or non glielo dire. With Lei, the pair stays in front: Me lo dia, Glielo porti.
Joined forms are one word, however long: portiamoglielo, mandatemeli.
In the past: te l’ho data
With avere, the past participle usually doesn’t change. But when lo, la, li, le come before it, it agrees with them, and that includes the pairs: Ti ho dato la chiave → Te l’ho data. Le ho mandato le foto → Gliele ho mandate.
Lo and la usually shorten to l’ before forms of avere: te l’ho, gliel’ho, ce l’hai. Li and le never shorten: te li ho, gliele ho. When l’ hides whether it was lo or la, the participle’s ending tells you.
| the thing | pronouns | past |
|---|---|---|
| il libro | te lo | te l’ho dato |
| la chiave | te la | te l’ho data |
| i biglietti | te li | te li ho dati |
| le foto | te le | te le ho date |
Common mistakes
- Mi lo dai?Me lo dai?Before lo, la, li, le and ne, mi becomes me.
- Gli lo do domani.Glielo do domani.Gli + lo join into one word: glielo.
- Le la do. (to her)Gliela do.Le (to her) also becomes glie-: gliela.
- Lo ti do.Te lo do.Indirect first, then direct: te lo.
- Devo te lo dire.Te lo devo dire. / Devo dirtelo.The pair goes before the modal or joins the infinitive, never in between.
- Dammilo!Dammelo!Mi becomes me before lo, even on the end of a command.
- La chiave? Te l’ho dato.La chiave? Te l’ho data.The participle agrees with la (la chiave): data.
The full table
Indirect pronoun first, then lo, la, li, le or ne. Mi, ti, ci, vi, si change their i to e; gli, le and formal Le become glie- and join up.
| mi → me | me lo · me la · me li · me le · me ne |
| ti → te | te lo · te la · te li · te le · te ne |
| gli, le, Le → glie- | glielo · gliela · glieli · gliele · gliene |
| ci → ce | ce lo · ce la · ce li · ce le · ce ne |
| vi → ve | ve lo · ve la · ve li · ve le · ve ne |
| si → se | se lo · se la · se li · se le · se ne |
Before a conjugated verb they’re two words (te lo do); glie- forms are always one (glielo do).
They join the end of an infinitive or a tu/noi/voi command: devo dirtelo, dammelo, diglielo.
With avere, the participle agrees with lo, la, li, le: te l’ho data, gliele ho mandate.
In short
- Indirect first, then direct: me lo, te la, ce li, ve le, me ne. Mi, ti, ci, vi, si become me, te, ce, ve, se.
- Gli, le and formal Le become glie-, written as one word: glielo, gliela, glieli, gliele, gliene.
- The pair goes before a conjugated verb, or joins an infinitive or a tu/noi/voi command: te lo devo dire or devo dirtelo; dammelo, diglielo.
- With avere, the participle agrees with lo, la, li, le: te l’ho data, gliele ho mandate.