Learn Italian: Il nuovo sviluppatore è molto simpatico, ci parlo spesso. - The new developer is very nice, I talk with him often.

Il nuovo sviluppatore è molto simpatico, ci parlo spesso.

The new developer is very nice, I talk with him often.

Breakdown of Il nuovo sviluppatore è molto simpatico, ci parlo spesso.

Questions & Answers about Il nuovo sviluppatore è molto simpatico, ci parlo spesso.

Wait, doesn't ci usually mean "us" or "there"? What does it mean here?

You are right that ci often means "us" or "there", but in this lesson it is acting as a comitative pronoun. It replaces con lui (with him). So ci parlo translates to "I talk with him."

Does simpatico mean the developer is sympathetic?

No, this is a classic false friend. Simpatico means nice, friendly, or likeable. If you wanted to say someone is sympathetic or understanding, you would use a word like comprensivo.

Could ci parlo spesso also mean "I talk with her" or "I talk with them"?

Yes! When used to mean "with [someone]", ci can replace con lui (with him), con lei (with her), or con loro (with them). We only know it means "with him" here because the first half of the sentence establishes we are talking about il nuovo sviluppatore (a male developer).

Why does ci come before the verb parlo?

Just like other small pronouns you have learned (such as mi, ti, lo, la), this special use of ci still follows the rule of going directly before the conjugated verb.