Italian Phrasal Verbs and Pronouns
Italian has phrasal verbs (verbi sintagmatici) similar to English. These are created by combining a verb with a locative adverb like via (away), fuori (out), giù (down), or su (up). Common examples include buttare via (to throw away) and tirare fuori (to take out).
When attaching a direct object pronoun (such as lo, la, li, or le) to an infinitive phrasal verb, the pronoun attaches directly to the verb, placing it strictly before the adverb.
To build these forms:
- Drop the final -e of the infinitive verb.
- Attach the pronoun to the end of the verb.
- Place the adverb immediately after the new word.
| Formula | Combined Form |
|---|---|
| buttare + la + via | buttarla via |
| tirare + li + fuori | tirarli fuori |
Let's see this in action when clearing out a room:
| While we were clearing out the room, I took the box to throw it away in the dumpster. | Mentre sgomberavamo la stanza, ho preso la scatola per buttarla via nel cassonetto. |
| Before clearing out the living room, I would like to organize the books and take them out. | Prima di sgomberare il salotto, vorrei sistemare i libri e tirarli fuori. |
Packing and Moving
The same strict pronoun placement rule applies to other phrasal verbs like mettere via (to put away) and portare giù (to take down).
| When you have organized the clothes, you must put them away. | Quando hai sistemato i vestiti, devi metterli via. |
| I would like to wrap this mirror with tape and take it down. | Vorrei avvolgere questo specchio con lo scotch e portarlo giù. |
When sorting through moving boxes and extra clutter (l'ingombro), you might need to toss useless items in the dumpster permanently (definitivamente).
| If this piece of furniture is useless, you must throw it away permanently. | Se questo mobile è inutile, devi buttarlo via definitivamente. |
| We must select the boxes and put them away neatly. | Dobbiamo selezionare gli scatoloni e metterli via ordinatamente. |