Pronouns with gerunds (facendolo, avendolo fatto)

Pronouns with Present Gerunds

In Italian, when you use a standalone present gerund (verbs ending in -ando or -endo, meaning "doing," "observing," etc.), object pronouns attach directly to the end of the verb.

This applies to direct, indirect, and reflexive pronouns. Instead of placing the pronoun before the verb, you glue it to the end to form a single word. For example, coordinando + li becomes coordinandoli (coordinating them).

Coordinating them, I noticed that the first scene is very chaotic.
Coordinandoli, ho notato che la prima scena è molto caotica.
Observing her, the director had the actress change her posture.
Osservandola, il regista ha fatto cambiare la postura all'attrice.
Listening to you, I want you to work on your diction and intonation.
Ascoltandoti, voglio che tu curi la dizione e l'intonazione.

Pronouns with Past Gerunds

The past gerund describes an action that was completed before the main verb, usually translating to "having done" something. It is formed using the gerund of the helping verb (avendo or essendo) followed by the past participle.

When attaching a pronoun to a past gerund, the pronoun always attaches to the helping verb (avendo or essendo)—never to the past participle. For example, avendo + lo + ripetuto becomes avendolo ripetuto.

Having repeated it, the actor improved the gesture.
Avendolo ripetuto, l'attore ha migliorato il gesto.
Having studied it a lot, you improved your diction.
Avendola studiata molto, hai migliorato la dizione.

Reflexive Verbs in the Past Gerund

Reflexive verbs always use essere as their helping verb. In the past gerund, the reflexive pronoun attaches directly to the end of essendo (e.g., essendoti).

Remember that because the auxiliary is essere, the ending of the past participle must agree in gender and number with the subject.

to identify oneself / to empathize
immedesimarsi
Having identified with the character, you were very expressive today.
Essendoti immedesimato nel personaggio, sei stato molto espressivo oggi.