Personal pronouns

Three premises:
1) there are only two sets of personal pronouns in Eng.: subject pronouns "I he she it we you they" and object pronouns "me him her it us you them". To these, we may add reflexive pronouns: "myself yourself himself herself itself ourselves yourselves themselves." There are more sets in It.;
2) the concept of "markedness" is often relevant in It.; click on the button for the technical meaning of marked /
3) if the difference between formal and informal forms of address in It. is not clear to you, please read here first.

Subject pronouns

	sng.	pl.
1st pers.	io	noi
2nd pers.	tu	voi
3rd pers.	m. lui, f. lei	loro

Remarks

Subject pronouns are often omitted, as the verb form is usually enough to make it clear as to what pronoun is "understood": "sappiamo" is only "noi sappiamo" ( we know).

Possible ambiguities are normally resolved by the . For example, "sono" may be either "io sono" or "loro sono" ( I am, they are) but in compound tenses there is no ambiguity: "sono partito" is sng. ( I have left), "sono partiti" is pl. ( they have left)

Object pronouns (1)

There are TWO sets of direct object pronouns. The first group consists of the pronouns.

These pronouns are unstressed and their place is between the subject and the transitive verb. Here is the list:

Examples: "Luigi mi vide. Luigi ti vide. Luigi lo vide. Luigi la vide. Luigi ci vide. Luigi vi vide. Luigi li vide." ( Luigi saw me. Luigi saw you sng. Luigi saw him/it. Luigi saw her/it. Luigi saw us. Luigi saw you pl. Luigi saw them.)

"Lo, la" may refer to persons or things. This is why they have been translated as "him/it, her/it." This remark is true for all these tables but will not be repeated.

Object pronouns (2)

This second list refers to the direct object pronouns that

1) are placed in a stressed, position for emphasis or contrast; or

2) follow a preposition.

	sng.	pl.
1st pers.	me	noi
2nd pers.	te	voi
3rd pers.	m. lui, f. lei	loro

Examples: "Lei ama me, non te." ( She loves me, not you sng.).
"Vedo lui ma non il suo cane." ( I can see him, but not his dog)

"Venite con noi?" ( Are you pl. coming with us?)
"Questo DVD è per lei" ( This DVD is for her)

Indirect object pronouns

These, too, belong to two groups. The stressed, ones are the same as those in the previous list and follow the preposition "a". "Parlava a me / te / lui / lei / noi / voi / loro" ( He was speaking to me / you sng. / him / her / us / you pl. / them)

Here is the table of the unstressed, pronouns, placed before the verb (except "loro"):

	sng.	pl.
1st pers.	mi	ci
2nd pers.	ti	vi
3rd pers.	m. gli, f. le	gli, loro

Examples: "Mi disse la verità" ( She told me the truth)
"Ci diedero la notizia" ( They gave us the news)
"Gli parlammo / Parlammo loro del programma" ( We spoke to them about the programme).

For the 3rd pers. pl., "loro" is more formal than "gli".

Reflexive pronouns (1)

Unmarked reflexive pronouns are the same as unmarked object pronouns, except for the 3rd pers. (both sng. and pl.) that uses "si".

Here is the present tense of "lavarsi" ( to wash oneself):

"Io mi lavo. Tu ti lavi. Lui/lei si lava. Noi ci laviamo. Voi vi lavate. Loro si lavano."

Remarks: 1) once again, the pronoun is before the verb;

2) these forms are used also in sentences that are not reflexive in Eng.: "Mi lavo le mani" ( I wash my hands"); "Si ricorda di me" ( He remembers me). See reflexive verbs

Here are the pronouns in table form:

	sng.	pl.
1st pers.	mi	ci
2nd pers.	ti	vi
3rd pers.	si	si

Reflexive pronouns (2)

An alternative form uses "stesso/a/i/e" preceded by the same pronouns as the marked object pronouns, except for the 3rd pers. (both sng. and pl.) that uses "sé".

Here is the table:

	sng.	pl.
1st pers.	me stesso/a	noi stessi/e
2nd pers.	te stesso/a	voi stessi/e
3rd pers.	sé stesso/a	sé stessi/e, loro stessi/e

Examples:
"Chi vota per il Partito X inganna sé stesso" ( Those who vote for the *** Party deceive themselves)
"Conosci te stesso" ( Know thyself)
"Quella vecchia non sa badare a sé stessa" ( That old lady cannot look after herself).

The pronoun "sé" bears a stress mark that distinguishes it from "se" ( if). However, the stress mark is optional when "sé" is followed by "stesso" or "medesimo".

In some cases, "stesso" reinforces another element of the sentence. Examples: "L'ho visto io stesso." ( I myself saw it). "Me l'ha detto lei stessa" ( She herself told me so).

More complex cases (for advanced learners)

"Double pronouns" before verbs

Pronouns affixed to verbs