The Grand Difference Between Direct & Indirect Object Pronouns in Italian

What's the grand difference between i pronomi diretti and i pronomi indiretti?

Today we’re looking at the grand difference between direct & indirect object pronouns, which are two topics that used to be a major pain in the butt for me.

They’re so small, so easy to miss in conversation, and so stealthy.

I pronomi diretti (direct object pronouns):

• Lo (masculine)

• La (feminine)

• Li (masculine plural)

• Le (feminine plural)

*Don’t know what the difference between masculine and feminine nouns are? Read this post to find out. 

These are their 2 purposes:

• They answer the questions ‘What?’ and ‘Whom?’

• They replace the nouns that answer those 2 questions to make conversation more fluid & smooth.

As much as they torment me, they’re incredibly useful in conversation.

How many times do you want to say a noun over and over again when you’ve already referenced it once?

Then you just sound repetitive and silly.

For example, in English:

Person 1: I went to the museum yesterday. When I went to the museum, it was fun. At the museum, I saw three pictures. The pictures were great. The pictures had people in them.

Person 1 revised with I pronomi diretti: I went to the museum yesterday. When I went there, it was fun. I saw three pictures there. They were great. They had people in them.

The second example has more of a natural fluidity to it. Hence, i pronomi diretti proving their worth. 

Let’s dive deeper into how to use them in Italian.