In conversational Italian, you can emphasize an object by moving it to the very beginning of the sentence. This is called "left dislocation."
When you pull an object to the front, you must "resume" it by placing a matching direct object pronoun (lo, la, li, or le) immediately before the verb.
| All the plastic, we recycle it here. | Tutta la plastica, la ricicliamo qui. |
With helper verbs like potere or dovere, the pronoun simply goes before the conjugated verb.
| This plastic, we can recycle it even if it is broken. | Questa plastica, la possiamo riciclare anche se è rotta. |
The pronoun always matches the gender and number of the fronted object.
| The materials, we sort them better now. | I materiali, li differenziamo meglio adesso. |
| The red bin, we use it for the glass. | Il bidone rosso, lo usiamo per il vetro. |
Shifting the Subject
Because moving the object to the front makes it the star of the sentence, the subject (the person or thing doing the action) is often pushed to the very end.
(Remember: In the passato prossimo, the singular pronouns lo and la drop their vowel and combine with the helper verb avere, e.g., l'ha).
| All the organic waste, the pig ate it! | Tutto l'umido, l'ha mangiato il maiale! |
| The river, that old factory pollutes it. | Il fiume, lo inquina quella vecchia fabbrica. |
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