To him, to her: gli, le, Le

a + a person becomes one word

Find the person after a and swap the whole thing for a pronoun in front of the verb: Telefono a Marco becomes Gli telefono. The a is gone, because the pronoun already means to him.

The thing you give or say stays where it is: Do il libro a Giulia becomes Le do il libro. Only the person moves.

The full set

There’s one pronoun for each person. Gli (to him) and le (to her) are the ones to watch: the person’s gender decides, so think about who it is before you speak.

Piacere uses the same words in the same place: gli piace il mare, le piacciono le rose. The verb still agrees with the thing liked.

Mi, ti, ci and vi are also the direct pronouns, so ti chiamo and ti telefono look alike. Only the third person splits: lo and la versus gli and le.

Formal Le, and gli or loro for “them”

With anyone you call Lei, to you is Le, for a man or a woman: Signor Rossi, Le telefono domani. It’s often written with a capital to show it’s formal.

For to them, everyday Italian says gli, for men, women or a mixed group: I nonni? Gli telefono domenica. In formal writing you’ll also see loro, which always goes after the verb: Telefono loro domenica.

Verbs that take a + a person

Most are verbs of giving and telling, where something passes to someone. English often drops the to (give her, tell him), but Italian keeps the a, so these verbs take indirect pronouns.

Three need extra care because English uses a plain object: telefonare (phone her → le telefono), chiedere (ask him → gli chiedo) and rispondere (answer her → le rispondo).

Direct or indirect? la chiamo, le telefono

Ask whether the verb takes a before the person. Chiamo Sara has no a, so Sara is a direct object: la chiamo. Telefono a Sara has an a, so it’s le telefono. Same meaning, different pronoun.

Some everyday verbs take a direct object even where English has to or for: ascoltare (listen to) and aspettare (wait for): l’ascolto, l’aspetto. Aiutare and ringraziare are direct too: li aiuto, la ringrazio.

Not sure? Say the sentence with the person’s name. If you need a before the name, the pronoun is gli, le or one of the others.

Where the pronoun goes

Before the conjugated verb, after non: Non gli scrivo. In the passato prossimo it goes before avere: Le ho telefonato, Non gli ho risposto.

With a modal and an infinitive you have two choices, both correct: before the modal (Ti posso fare una domanda?) or joined to the end of the infinitive, which drops its final -e (Posso farti una domanda?). For contrast, use the long form with a: Telefono a lui, non a lei.

Passato prossimo: no agreement

With direct pronouns the participle agrees: Anna? L’ho chiamata. Indirect pronouns never change it. It stays in -o whoever gets the call: Anna? Le ho telefonato.

Also, le and gli don’t shorten before ho. L’ho is always a direct pronoun, so write le ho and gli ho in full.

Common mistakes

• Lo telefono stasera.Gli telefono stasera.Telefonare takes a + the person, so it needs the indirect pronoun.
• Anna? Gli scrivo domani.Anna? Le scrivo domani.Gli is to him. For a woman it’s le.
• La chiedo la strada.Le chiedo la strada.English says ask her, but Italian says chiedo a lei: le.
• Le ho telefonata.Le ho telefonato.Only direct pronouns make the participle agree. With le meaning to her, it stays in -o.
• Anna? L’ho risposto.Anna? Le ho risposto.Le and gli never shorten before ho; l’ho is a direct pronoun.
• Signor Rossi, gli mando la mail.Signor Rossi, Le mando la mail.Talking to someone formally, to you is Le, even for a man.
• Loro telefono domenica.Gli telefono domenica.Loro goes after the verb (telefono loro). Before it, say gli.

The full set

Indirect pronouns replace a + a person. They go before the verb.

Verbs with a + a person take them: dare, dire, telefonare, scrivere, mandare, regalare, chiedere, rispondere, prestare, spiegare.

Chiamare takes a direct object: la chiamo, but le telefono.

No agreement in the passato prossimo, and no shortening: le ho telefonato, gli ho scritto.