Italian pronouns
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Sign up for freePronouns (I pronomi) are grammatical items that replace nouns.
Pronouns help to make the speech more fluid and avoid repetitions.
Lesson outline
Hide- 1.Italian pronouns list
- 2.Personal pronouns in Italian
- 2.1.Italian subject pronouns
- 2.2.Non-subject Italian pronouns
- 3.Relative pronouns in Italian
- 4.Possessive pronouns in Italian
- 5.Demonstrative pronouns in Italian
- 6.Indefinite pronouns in Italian
- 7.Interrogative pronouns in Italian
- 8.Reflexive pronouns in Italian
Italian pronouns list
The Italian language distinguishes the following pronouns:
- Personal pronouns
- Relative pronouns
- Possessive pronouns
- Demonstrative pronouns
- Indefinite pronouns
- Interrogative pronouns
- Reflexive pronouns
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Personal pronouns in Italian
There are two different kinds of personal pronouns: subject pronouns and non-subject pronouns.
Italian subject pronouns
| Italian | English |
|---|---|
| Io | I |
| Tu | You |
| Egli Esso → Lui | He |
| Ella Essa → Lei | She |
| Noi | We |
| Voi | You |
| Essi → Loro (masculine) | They |
| Esse → Loro (feminine) | They |
Remember! The third person pronouns egli, esso, ella, essa, essi, esse have been almost completely replaced by lui, lei, loro.
Here's some examples.
| Italian | English |
|---|---|
| Io mi chiamo Francesco, e voi? | My name is Francesco, and yours? |
| Non so cosa facciano loro | I don't know what they do. |
| Professore, Lei cosa insegna? | Professor, what do you teach? |
Non-subject Italian pronouns
We can identify stressed and unstressed pronouns and also operate a further division in direct and indirect object pronouns basing on the type of complement involved.
| Stressed pronouns | Unstressed pronouns Direct object | Unstressed pronouns Indirect object |
|---|---|---|
| Me (Me) | Mi | Mi |
| Te (You) | Ti | Ti |
| Lui (Him) | Lo Gli | Gli Ne |
| Lei (Her) | La Le | Le Ne |
| Noi (Us) | Ci | Ci |
| Voi (You) | Vi | Vi |
| Loro (Them) (masculine) | Li | Gli Loro Ne |
| Loro (Them) (feminine) | Le | Gli Loro Ne |
Let's see some examples.
| Italian | English |
|---|---|
| Ho saputo la notizia, me l'ha già detta Fabrizio. | I heard the news, Fabrizio informed me about it. |
| Io voglio venire con voi. | I want to come with you. |
| Non mi interessa. Fate come vi pare. | I don't care. Do as you want. |
Relative pronouns in Italian
Relative pronouns are used to connect two or more parts of a sentence and to create logical links.
They correspond to who, which and that.
| Masculine singular | Feminine singular | Masculine plural | Feminine plural | English |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Che | Che | Che | Che | Who/Which/That |
| Cui | Cui | Cui | Cui | Who/Which/That |
| Il quale | La quale | I quali | Le quali | Who/Which/That |
Take a look at the following examples.
| Italian | English |
|---|---|
| Oggi ho incontrato Andrea, che era con la sua ragazza. | I met Andrea today, who was with his girlfriend. |
| Ieri ho rivisto quella mia amica di cui ti avevo parlato. | Yesterday I met that friend of mine who I'd told you about. |
| Quella è la penna con la quale ho firmato il contratto. | That's the pen I signed the contract with. |
Possessive pronouns in Italian
Possessive pronouns are used to specify the ownership of an object.
| Italian pronoun (Singular masculine) | English |
|---|---|
| Il mio | Mine |
| Il tuo | Yours |
| Il suo | His/Hers |
| Il nostro | Ours |
| Il vostro | Yours |
| Il loro | Theirs |
| Proprio | His/her own |
| Altrui | Somebody else's/others' |
Let's analize some examples.
| Italian | English |
|---|---|
| Se hai bisogno di una bicicletta, puoi prendere la mia. | If you need a bike, you can borrow mine. |
| Pensi che la vostra idea sia meglio della nostra? | Do you think your idea is better than ours? |
| A proposito di debolezze, ognuno ha le proprie. | Speaking of weaknesses, everyone has their own. |
Demonstrative pronouns in Italian
Demonstrative pronouns replace an element in relation to its position in time or space.
| Singular masculine | Singular feminine | Plural masculine | Plural feminine | English |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Questo | Questa | Questi | Queste | This, These |
| Quello | Quella | Quelli | Quelle | That, Those |
Check out the following sentences.
| Italian | English |
|---|---|
| Non mi piace questa tazza, prendiamo quella. | I don't like this mug, let's take that one instead. |
| Quelle sono le cose che contano. | Those are the things that count. |
| Il problema di cui ti parlavo è quello. | The problem I was talking you about was that one. |
Indefinite pronouns in Italian
Indefinite pronouns refer to generic quantities or elements.
| Pronoun (Singular masculine) | English |
|---|---|
| Uno | One |
| Alcuni | Some |
| Ciascuno | Each/Each one |
| Qualcosa | Something, anything |
| Tutto | Eveything |
| Tutti/Ognuno | Everyone |
| Chiunque | Anybody |
| Poco | Few/little |
| Tanto | Much/Many |
| Troppo | Too much/too many |
| Molto | Much/Many/A lot |
| Nessuno | No one |
| Niente/Nulla | Nothing |
Let's analize some examples.
| Italian | English |
|---|---|
| Tutti lo sanno. | Everybody knows. |
| Parlava coi pochi che erano venuti. | He was talking with the few people who came. |
| La cassetta delle lettere è vuota. Non c'è niente. | The mailbox is empty, there is nothing in it. |
Interrogative pronouns in Italian
Interrogative pronouns are used to introduce a question.
| Italian | English |
|---|---|
| Chi | Who |
| Che/cosa/che cosa | What |
| Quale (singular masculine) | Which |
| Quanto (singular masculine) | How much/how many/how long |
Let's see some practical example.
| Italian | English |
|---|---|
| Quali sono i tuoi libri? | Which ones are your books? |
| Chi è quella donna che ti ha accompagnato? | Who is that woman who drove you? |
| Quali sono gli ingredienti per la torta di mele? | What are the ingredients of the apple cake? |
Reflexive pronouns in Italian
Reflexive pronouns are used when there is a reciprocal action between two or more subjects.
| Italian | English |
|---|---|
| Mi | Myself |
| Ti | Yourself |
| Si/Sé | Himself/Herself/Itself |
| Ci | Ourselves |
| Vi | Yourselves |
| Si/Sè | Themselves |
Let's analize the following senteces.
| Italian | English |
|---|---|
| Io mi faccio la doccia ogni giorno. | I shower everyday. |
| Non si sente bene. | He isn't feeling well. |
| Nessuno sa come si sentono. | Nobody knows how they feel. |