Breakdown of Il segreto, glielo sussurro all'orecchio.
il segreto
the secret
a
to / at
glielo
it to him/her
l'orecchio
the ear (m)
sussurrare
to whisper
Questions & Answers about Il segreto, glielo sussurro all'orecchio.
Why is there a comma after Il segreto, and why do we use lo in glielo if we already mentioned the secret?
This is a structure called left dislocation. To emphasize the object (Il segreto), it gets moved to the beginning of the sentence. When doing this, Italian grammar requires a matching direct object pronoun—in this case, the lo combined into glielo—to resume the object right before the verb.
How exactly does the pronoun glielo break down here?
Glielo is a double object pronoun combining the indirect object gli (to him) and the direct object lo (it, replacing il segreto). Whenever gli combines with lo, la, li, or le, it changes its spelling to glie- and forms a single word.
Could glielo also mean I whisper it in her ear?
Absolutely. While the English translation says to his ear, glielo is also the required form for to her (the expected le + lo becomes glielo). In spoken Italian, it is also frequently used for to them, replacing the bulkier lo... a loro. You rely purely on context to know who is receiving the action.
Why is it all'orecchio instead of al suo orecchio (in his ear)?
Italian avoids using possessive adjectives with body parts or clothing when the owner is already clear. Because the indirect object pronoun gli (to him) establishes whose ear is involved, the simple definite article combined with a to make all' is all you need.
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