Learn Italian: Adori questa canzone? Sì, la adoro! - Do you adore this song? Yes, I adore it!

Adori questa canzone? Sì, la adoro!

Do you adore this song? Yes, I adore it!

Breakdown of Adori questa canzone? Sì, la adoro!

her/it (direct object)

sì

yes

Questions & Answers about Adori questa canzone? Sì, la adoro!

Why is the word for "it" la instead of lo?

In Italian, the word for "it" has to match the gender of the noun it replaces. Here, "it" replaces questa canzone (this song). Because canzone is a feminine noun, we must use the feminine pronoun la.

Why does la come before the verb instead of after?

In English, we put the pronoun after the verb ("I adore it"). But in Italian, short direct object pronouns like la (it/her), lo (it/him), li (them, masculine), and le (them, feminine) are placed immediately before the conjugated verb. So, it translates word-for-word as "it I adore" (la adoro).

How can I tell that canzone is feminine since it ends in -e?

Nouns ending in -e can be either masculine or feminine, so their gender just has to be memorized. However, this sentence gives you a huge hint: the word for "this" is questa, which is the feminine form. If the noun were masculine, it would be questo.

Can I combine la and adoro into l'adoro?