Questions & Answers about Noi sappiamo i segreti, ma non glieli sveliamo.
How does the word glieli break down in this sentence?
It is a combined double pronoun. The first part glie- stands for "to him" (the indirect object). The second part -li means "them" (the direct object, replacing i segreti). When gli (to him) combines with li (them), they fuse together with an extra "e" to form glieli. If glie- means "to him", how would we say "we do not reveal them to her"?
The sentence would look exactly the same: non glieli sveliamo. When combining with a direct object pronoun like li, both gli (to him) and le (to her) transform into the exact same prefix: glie-. You have to rely on context to know if it means "to him" or "to her". Why use sappiamo for "we know" instead of a form of conoscere?
Sapere (conjugated here as sappiamo) is used for knowing facts, pieces of information, or how to do something. Conoscere is used for being acquainted with a person or a place. Since secrets are pieces of information, sapere is the right choice here. Why is non placed before glieli?
In Italian, the negative word non always goes right before the pronoun block. You can think of the combined pronoun glieli and the verb sveliamo as one tightly linked package, so the non must sit at the very front of that whole package. Learn Noi sappiamo i segreti, ma non glieli sveliamo 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