In Italian, when you use a direct object pronoun—like "it" or "them"—with the passato prossimo, something special happens. Normally, past participles used with the helper verb avere always end in -o. But when you place a direct object pronoun right before the verb, the past participle must change its ending to agree in gender and number with the pronoun.
Singular items: "lo" and "la"
When replacing a singular noun, use lo (masculine "it") or la (feminine "it").
Before the auxiliary verb avere (ho, hai, ha, abbiamo, avete, hanno), both lo and la drop their vowel and combine with the verb to become l'.
Even though the pronoun is shortened, the past participle still changes to show the gender of the hidden pronoun:
- It ends in -o when replacing a masculine noun.
- It ends in -a when replacing a feminine noun.
| I lost the passport. Have you seen it? | Ho perso il passaporto. L'hai visto? |
| Did you take my driver's license? No, I haven't seen it. | Hai preso la mia patente? No, non l'ho vista. |
| The necklace is beautiful. Where did you buy it? | La collana è bella. Dove l'hai comprata? |
Plural items: "li" and "le"
When replacing plural nouns, use li (masculine "them") or le (feminine "them").
Unlike the singular pronouns, li and le never drop their vowels before avere. You write them out fully, and the past participle must agree with them:
- It ends in -i for masculine plural (li).
- It ends in -e for feminine plural (le).
| Where are my gloves? I left them in the car. | Dove sono i miei guanti? Li ho lasciati in macchina. |
| Did you take the keys? No, I left them on the table. | Hai preso le chiavi? No, le ho lasciate sul tavolo. |
| Marco took my books, but he returned them today. | Marco ha preso i miei libri, ma li ha restituiti oggi. |
