Log inSign up

Lui ha comprato i profumi, anche se non glieli manda.

Lui ha comprato i profumi, anche se non glieli manda.
He bought the perfumes, even if he doesn't send them to her.
From Lesson 131:Third-person combined pronouns (glielo, gliela)·Italian

Questions & Answers about Lui ha comprato i profumi, anche se non glieli manda.

How does glieli break down in this sentence?
glieli is a combined pronoun made of two parts. The glie- part means "to her" in this context. The -li part means "them" and refers back to the masculine plural noun i profumi (the perfumes).
Wait, isn't the pronoun for "to her" normally le?
Yes, normally "to her" is le and "to him" is gli. However, when combining them with a direct object pronoun like li (them), both change into the exact same prefix: glie-. Because of this, glieli can mean "them to him", "them to her", or "them to them", and you have to rely on context to know which one it is!
Why is the negative word non placed before the pronouns?
In Italian, object pronouns like glieli must stay glued directly to the front of the conjugated verb (manda). You cannot separate them. Because of this rule, non has to go right before the entire pronoun-verb block.
What does anche se mean?
On its own, anche means "also" or "too", and se means "if". When put together, anche se is a very common fixed phrase meaning "even if" or "even though".

Learn Lui ha comprato i profumi, anche se non glieli manda and more in Italian

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.

  • ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
  • ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
  • ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free
Start learning Italian →