Learn Italian: Maria ama la pizza. La mangia spesso. - Maria loves pizza. She eats it often.

Maria ama la pizza. La mangia spesso.

Maria loves pizza. She eats it often.

Breakdown of Maria ama la pizza. La mangia spesso.

Questions & Answers about Maria ama la pizza. La mangia spesso.

Why does the second sentence start with La?

In Italian, direct object pronouns like la (meaning "it" or "her") come before the verb. Since the verb is mangia (eats), the pronoun goes right in front of it: La mangia (she eats it).

Are the two la words in this example doing the same job?

No! In the first sentence, la is a definite article (meaning "the") that goes with the noun: la pizza. In the second sentence, La is a direct object pronoun that replaces the noun entirely (meaning "it").

Why do we use La to mean "it" instead of Lo?

Because "it" refers back to la pizza, which is a feminine singular noun. You have to use the matching feminine singular pronoun, which is la. If she were eating a masculine noun like il formaggio (the cheese), you would use lo.

Where is the word for "she" in the second sentence?

Italian usually drops subject pronouns like lei (she) when it is obvious who is doing the action. The verb form mangia already tells us the subject is a "he" or "she", and we know from the first sentence that we are talking about Maria.