Indirect object pronouns
Mi, ti, gli, le replace a person who receives something — to me, to you, to her.
Indirect object pronouns stand for a + person: mi (to me), ti (to you), gli (to him), le (to her), ci (to us), vi (to you plural), gli (to them). In modern spoken Italian gli is used for to them; the traditional form loro comes after the verb: parlo loro.
Like direct pronouns they come before the verb: Ti parlo (I am speaking to you), Le scrivo una email (I am writing her an email), Gli telefono domani (I will phone him tomorrow). Verbs like telefonare, rispondere, chiedere and dare take an indirect object in Italian: Gli rispondo (I answer him).
This is also how piacere works: Mi piace la pizza literally means the pizza is pleasing to me. The thing liked is the subject, so it is mi piace il caffè but mi piacciono i dolci.
Examples
- Ti do il mio numero. I will give you my number. Listen in Italian: Slow in Italian: Ti do il mio numero.
- Le scrivo stasera. I will write to her tonight. Listen in Italian: Slow in Italian: Le scrivo stasera.
- Gli parlo domani. I will speak to him tomorrow. Listen in Italian: Slow in Italian: Gli parlo domani.
- Mi piace questa canzone. I like this song. Listen in Italian: Slow in Italian: Mi piace questa canzone.
- Ci mandano un messaggio. They send us a message. Listen in Italian: Slow in Italian: Ci mandano un messaggio.
Common mistake
Using lo or la where Italian wants an indirect pronoun: Lo telefono is wrong — telefonare takes a + person, so say Gli telefono (to him) or Le telefono (to her).