The lesson
Every language has registers, but in Italian the gap between formal writing and casual speech is especially wide. An office letter might say Il sottoscritto chiede a codesto Ufficio…; at the bar, the same person says Senti, c’ho un problema. Both are correct Italian, for different readers.
At C1 you need to recognise formal and bureaucratic forms when you read them, choose the right form for the context, and fix a sentence in the wrong register.
Three registers
Formal written Italian (essays, contracts, official letters) uses full forms, il quale, the passato remoto in narrative and impersonal constructions. Neutral Italian (news, emails between colleagues) is standard without the flourishes. Colloquial Italian (chats, conversation) allows c’ho, dislocations and a multi-purpose che.
None of these is wrong in its place. The error is the mismatch: c’ho in a letter to the bank, or in data odierna in a text to a friend.
| Formal | Neutral | Colloquial |
|---|---|---|
| In data odierna non potrò essere presente. | Oggi non potrò esserci. | Oggi non ce la faccio. |
| Egli affermò che… | Lui ha detto che… | Ha detto che… |
| Si prega di confermare. | Per favore, confermate. | Mi fate sapere? |
Formal pronouns and narrative
Egli (he) is the formal written subject pronoun for a man; ella (she) is now old-fashioned, and formal prose often uses essa for women too. Esso, essa, essi, esse are it and they, mainly for things and animals. All of them are subjects only: as objects, use lui, lei, loro, or a clitic.
In speech and most modern writing, lui, lei, loro are standard subjects, or the pronoun is dropped. Egli in a chat sounds stiff.
Literary and historical narrative pairs these pronouns with the passato remoto: Egli giunse a Firenze; la città gli parve deserta. Told aloud, the same story would use the passato prossimo.
il quale, costui, codesto, ove, onde
Il quale, la quale, i quali, le quali replace che in formal writing, and they help anywhere che would be ambiguous: la sorella di Marco, la quale… is clearly the sister. After a preposition: al quale, nella quale.
Costui, costei, costoro (this person, these people) are literary; in speech they sound ironic or scornful. Coloro che is the formal those who. Codesto means that, near you: Tuscan in speech, and in bureaucratic letters it points to the office you’re writing to: codesto Ufficio.
Ove is formal dove (ove possibile, where possible) and can also mean if. Onde + infinitive (onde evitare) is bureaucratic in order to; in an ordinary email, say per.
Bureaucratic Italian
Forms, notices and official letters have their own style: impersonal constructions, nouns instead of verbs, and fixed formulas. Si prega di + infinitive (please), in data odierna (today), si comunica che (we inform you that), in allegato (attached).
On forms you write about yourself in the third person: Il sottoscritto (or la sottoscritta) Mario Rossi chiede… Invitations and very formal letters may address you as la S.V., la Signoria Vostra.
When you write, a clear neutral style is usually better; keep the formulas for forms and notices.
Everyday speech: c’ho, cosa?, che
C’ho, c’hai, c’ha (ho, hai, ha) are everywhere in speech: c’ho fame, c’hai tempo? Before lo, la, li, le it’s standard: ce l’ho, ce l’hai? In writing, avoid c’ho and ci ho: just ho.
Che cosa? is the full question word; cosa? is normal in speech and everyday writing; che? alone (che fai?) is casual.
The che polivalente stands in for other relatives. With time words it’s accepted in speech: il giorno che ti ho visto. For di cui or a cui it’s substandard. Speech also doubles pronouns, a me mi piace; in writing, keep one.
Dislocation: Il caffè lo prendo dopo
Spoken Italian often moves the topic to the front or the end of the sentence and echoes it with a pronoun. Front: Il caffè lo prendo dopo; A Marta le ho già scritto. End: Ne ho parlato, di questo.
The echo pronoun is required (Il caffè prendo dopo sounds wrong), and the usual agreements apply: Le foto le hai viste? Dislocation is natural in conversation and informal writing. In a report, use the plain order: Presenteremo il bilancio a giugno.
Tu, Lei, Voi
Tu is for friends, family, children and, more and more, colleagues and peers. Lei is the formal you for one person: strangers, offices, clients, teachers. It takes third-person forms (Lei è, Le scrivo, La ringrazio, il Suo ufficio), often capitalised in letters. Adjectives and participles agree with the real person: Lei è stato gentile to a man, stata to a woman.
Voi is the plural of both tu and Lei: Accomodatevi, signori. In business letters it addresses a company: Spettabile ditta, Vi ringraziamo. In parts of the south, older speakers still use voi to one person as a mark of respect.
Common mistakes
- Buongiorno, c’ho un problema con la mia pratica.Buongiorno, ho un problema con la mia pratica.C’ho is spoken style; writing to an office, just ho.
- Abbiamo invitato egli e sua moglie.Abbiamo invitato lui e sua moglie.Egli is subject-only. As an object, use lui.
- La ragazza che ti ho parlato arriva domani.La ragazza di cui ti ho parlato arriva domani.Parlare di needs its preposition: di cui.
- Il sottoscritto Mario Rossi chiedo…Il sottoscritto Mario Rossi chiede…Il sottoscritto is grammatically third person.
- Le scrivo per dirti che arrivo alle otto.Le scrivo per dirLe che arrivo alle otto.Don’t switch between Lei and tu in the same message.
- Signor Rossi, Lei è stata molto gentile.Signor Rossi, Lei è stato molto gentile.With Lei, agree with the real person: a man is stato.
- Il caffè prendo dopo.Il caffè lo prendo dopo.A fronted object needs its echo pronoun: lo.
Same idea, three registers
The formal written form first, then what you’d say in everyday speech.
| he, it | egli, esso, essa → lui, lei, or no pronoun |
| those who | coloro che → quelli che, chi |
| who, which | il quale, la quale → che |
| that (near you) | codesto → quello |
| where, if | ove → dove, se |
| in order to | onde evitare → per evitare |
| in which | in cui → che (speech only) |
| I have | ho → c’ho (speech only) |
| what? | che cosa? → cosa? → che? |
| today | in data odierna → oggi |
| I (on forms) | il sottoscritto chiede → io chiedo |
Speech echoes a fronted object: Il caffè lo prendo dopo.
Tu with friends, Lei formally, Voi to a company.
With Lei, agree with the real person: Lei è stato gentile to a man.
In short
- Formal writing: egli, esso, essa (subjects only), il quale, coloro che, ove, onde, and the passato remoto in narrative.
- Bureaucratic: si prega di, in data odierna, il sottoscritto chiede, codesto Ufficio, la S.V.
- Speech: lui and lei as subjects, c’ho, cosa?, the che polivalente, and dislocations like Il caffè lo prendo dopo.
- Tu with friends, Lei formally (agreeing with the real person), Voi to a company or, regionally, to one person.
- Match the register to the reader, from greeting to sign-off.