Learn Hardcore Italian: Più tardi glielo porto, perché so che quel volantino le piacerà. - I’ll bring it to her later, because I know she’ll like that flyer.

glielo is a double-clitic pronoun combining the indirect object pronoun gli (“to him/ to her”) with the direct object pronoun lo (“it,” masculine). In Italian, when you need both an indirect and a direct pronoun, you put the indirect first: gli + lo = glielo, meaning “I’ll bring it to him/her.”

How do I know whether glielo refers to “him” or “her”?

In standard Italian clitics, gli in glielo is ambiguous (especially in speech) because context usually tells you the gender. Here the second clause uses le (“to her”), so glielo must mean “to her.” If you want to remove any doubt, you can say glielo porto a lei.

Why is le used in le piacerà, and how does the verb piacere work?

Italian piacere (“to please”) flips the English “to like.” The thing that is pleasing is the grammatical subject, and the person who likes it is the indirect object. So:

Quel volantino is the subject (“that flyer”).
le is the indirect object pronoun (“to her”).
piacerà is the future form “will be pleasing.”

Literally it reads “that flyer will be pleasing to her,” i.e. “she will like it.”

Why use the future tense piacerà instead of the present piace?

You’re predicting her reaction before she sees the flyer, so you use the future piacerà (“will please”). The present piace would imply she already has it and you know how she feels now.

What role does perché play, and why is so in the present tense?

perché is a causal conjunction meaning “because.” It introduces the reason for bringing the flyer later. so is the first person singular present of sapere (“to know a fact”). You say so che… + indicative when you state a fact you’re sure of.

When does perché take the subjunctive rather than the indicative?

As a causal conjunction (“because”), perché takes the indicative: so che….
As a purpose conjunction (“so that”), it takes the subjunctive:
“Studio perché possa imparare” (“I study so that I can learn”).

Here it means “because,” so you see so (indicative), not the subjunctive.

Why is there a comma before perché? Is it mandatory?

The comma before perché in this context is optional but common in Italian to mark a pause before an explanatory clause. It isn’t strictly required by grammar rules, but it helps readability.

Why quel volantino instead of il volantino or un volantino?

quel is a demonstrative adjective meaning “that.” It points to a specific flyer you’ve mentioned or that your listener knows about.

il volantino = “the flyer” (less emphasis),
un volantino = “a flyer” (any flyer),
quel volantino = “that particular flyer.”

How do I choose the correct form of quello before different nouns?

quello changes with gender, number, and the initial sound of the noun:

Masculine singular + most consonants: quel libro
Masculine singular + s + consonant or z: quello studente
Masculine/feminine singular + vowel: quell’amica, quell’amico
Feminine singular + consonant: quella casa
Masculine plural + most consonants: quei libri
Masculine plural + vowel, s + consonant, z: quegli amici, quegli zaini
Feminine plural: quelle case

What does più tardi mean, and why is it used here?

più tardi is a comparative adverb meaning “later” (literally “more late”). It specifies that you’ll bring the flyer at a later time. You could say dopo (“after”), but più tardi is the idiomatic choice for “later on.”

Why is the pronoun glielo placed before porto instead of after?

In Italian, clitic pronouns generally precede a finite verb (proclisis). So you say glielo porto. Pronouns only attach after infinitives, gerunds, or affirmative imperatives (enclisis), not before simple present forms.