Italian grammar
What is the biggest difference between English and Italian subject pronouns?
Italian often omits them.
But don’t worry! You will learn when to use the Italian subject pronouns in no time.
First of all, let’s see what they are.
What are the Italian subject pronouns?
| English | Italian |
|---|---|
| I | Io |
| You (singular) | Tu/Lei |
| He/she/it | Lui/lei/esso |
| We | Noi |
| You (plural) | Voi |
| They | Loro |
Io
I
Tu
You (singular)
Lui
He
Lei
She
Esso
It
Noi
We
Voi
You (plural)
Loro
They
These Italian subject pronouns are pretty straightforward, aren’t they?
Except for that tu/Lei. Why are there two translations for the singular you?
The courtesy form Lei
Italian subject pronouns have what’s called a courtesy form.
You will use tu to address your mom. You will use Lei to address your boss at work.
The rule goes like this:
If you need show respect to someone, address them with Lei. This applies to shopkeepers, waiters, and any adult you don’t know well and are not on familiar terms with.
If you are on familiar terms with someone, address them with tu. This includes children and teenagers, family members, friends, colleagues and other people you know well.
Lei è il mio capo.
You are my boss. (formal)
Tu sei mio amico.
You are my friend. (informal)
Or also:
Mi sa (Lei) dire dov’è la stazione?
Could you tell me where the train station is? (formal)
Mi sai (tu) dire dov’è la stazione?
Could you tell me where the train station is? (informal)
Note that in the last two examples the pronouns are completely omitted and the only part of the sentence that betrays the fact that we are addressing either a stranger or a friend is the verb sa/sai (can). We’ll soon see why.
You may also have noticed that this courtesy form Lei corresponds to the third person singular pronoun lei. This is no mistake: Italians do address strangers as “she”!
This is true for both men and women, so if you are a man and you are ever addressed as “she” while in Italy, remember that the person speaking to you is not being disrespectful. On the contrary, they are being polite!
As in English, the third person singular has three pronouns.
Lui means he, lei means she and esso means it.
You will use lui for men, she for women and esso for inanimate objects or animals, but it’s so rare you’ll almost never hear it or see it written.
Lui è Marco → He is Mark.
Lei è Sara → She is Sarah.
(Esso) è un gatto → It is a cat.
Examples
Tu sei un insegnante?
Are you a teacher?
Noi siamo dottori.
We are doctors.
Io sono un ingegnere.
I am an engineer.
Lei è un architetto?
Are you (formal) an architect?
No, lei è una giornalista.
No, she’s a journalist.
Lui è bello.
He is nice.
Lei è alta.
She is tall.
Io sono veloce.
I am fast.
Voi siete magri.
You (plural) are thin.
Noi siamo felici.
We are happy.
Tu sei arrabbiato.
You (informal) are angry.
Loro sono qui.
They are here.
More free Italian resources
You might want to keep learning Italian online with these free Italian resources:
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