Learn Italian: Non darmelo! Ci penso prima di comprare il pennarello. - Do not give it to me! I will think about it before buying the marker.

Non darmelo! Ci penso prima di comprare il pennarello.

Do not give it to me! I will think about it before buying the marker.

Breakdown of Non darmelo! Ci penso prima di comprare il pennarello.

Questions & Answers about Non darmelo! Ci penso prima di comprare il pennarello.

Why are the pronouns attached to the end of dar in Non darmelo?

For the negative informal imperative (tu), you use non + the infinitive verb. When adding double pronouns like me (to me) and lo (it), you attach them to the end of the infinitive, dropping its final -e. So, non dare combines with me lo to become non darmelo.

Since this is a negative imperative, can I put the pronouns before the verb instead?

Yes! With the negative tu imperative, you have two choices. You can attach them to the end (Non darmelo!) or put them before the verb (Non me lo dare!). Both are perfectly correct and very common in everyday Italian.

Why is it me instead of mi?

When the indirect object pronoun mi (to me) is combined with a direct object pronoun like lo (it) to form a double clitic, the -i changes to an -e. That is why it becomes me lo instead of mi lo.

What is the word Ci doing in Ci penso?