Lesson 146: Indirect Object in Italian (revisited)

The indirect object in Italian, as in English, asks a chi or per chi (to whom or for whom) and is typically a person or an animal. In Italian, when the indirect object is not a pronoun, the indirect object is always proceeded by the preposition, a, or sometimes the preposition, per.

This contrasts in English where we can have indirect objects that are not proceeded by a prepositions, such as this example:

• I bought Jane a gift for Christmas.
  Ho comprato un regalo a Giovanna per Natale.

When the indirect object is a pronoun, no preposition need follow. The indirect object pronouns are:

• singolare
  
  mi = me, to me
  ti = you, to you
  gli = him, to him
  le = her, to her
  Le = you, to you (formal)
  

• plurale
  
  ci = us, to us
  vi = you, to you
  gli (loro) = them, to them (m. or f.)

It might be helpful to read the post on double object pronouns, since the indirect objects change form when used with direct object pronouns.

Some verbs in Italian take an indirect object. Here's a list of some common verbs:

• affezionarsi / to grow fond of
  
  Si affeziona al nuovo cane.
  She is growing fond of the new dog.
  
  
• apparire / to appear
  
  La Madonna di Pompei le è apparsa in sogno.
  The Pompei Madonna appeared to her in a dream.
  
  
• appartenere / to belong
  
  Questa macchina appartiene a Gianni.
  This car belongs to Johnny.
  
  
• assomigliare / to resemble
  
  Tua madre assomiglia a mia zia.
  Your mother resembles my aunt.
  
  
• avvicinarsi / to approach
  
  Mi sono avvicinato al poliziotto per trovare il mio albergo.
  I approached the police office in order to find my hotel.
  
  
• badare / to look after
  
  Mia madre bada ai bambini durante il giorno.
  My mother looks after the children during the day.
  
  
• credere / to believe
  
• dare / to give
  
• dire / to say, to tell
• disubbidire / to disobey
  
• importare / to matter
  
• interessare / to interest
  
• mentire / to lie
  
• obbedire / to obey
  
• opporsi / to oppose
  
• parere / to appear, to seem
  
• parlare / to speak, to talk
  
• pensare / to think (of)
  
• ribellarsi / to rebel against
  
• rispondere / to answer
  
• sembrare / to look, to seem
  
• somigliare / to resemble
  
• sopravvivere / to survive
  
• sorridere / to smile (at)
  
• sparare / to shoot (at)
  
• telefonare / to phone
  
• ubbidire / to obey

(more examples to follow this weekend!)