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Italian Grammar

Pronouns

Personal Pronouns

Personal pronouns, can be used both as a subject as an object.

  SUBJECT   OBJECT    
PERSON          
1st sing. io I mi me me
2nd sing. tu you ti te you
3rd sing. masc. egli/lui/esso he/it lo/gli/si lui/sé him
3rd sing. fem. alla/lei/essa she/it la/le/si leu/sé her
1st plural noi we ci noi us
2nd plural voi you vi voi you
3rd plural masc. essi/loro they li/si loro/sé them
3rd plural fem. esse/loro they le/si loro/sé them

Subject pronouns replace the subject and take the place of the noun, generally before the verb.
In Italian the subject pronouns are almost always omitted:

(Io) mangio un panino I eat a sandwich
(tu) mangi un panino you eat a sandwich
(egli/ella/esso/essa) mangia un panino he/she/it eat a sandwich
(noi) mangiamo un panino we eat a sandwich
(voi) mangiate un panino you eat a sandwich
(essi/esse) mangiano un panino they eat a sandwich

Pronouns are always expressed when used to enphasise the subject,in this case they go after the verb and pronouns lui and lei are used instead of egli and ella and loro instead of essi:

Chi è stato? Sono stato io/È stato lui/Sono stati loro

Who dit it? I dit it/He did it/ They did it

The personal pronoun lei is used as a form of courtesy when speaking to an adult who is not a close acquaintance:

Lei dottore cosa ne pensa?

What do you think, doctor?
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