Learn Italian: Voi cospirate contro di noi, ma non vi espelliamo. - You conspire against us, but we do not expel you.

This highlights the core rule of the current lesson! When certain prepositions like contro (against), senza (without), or dopo (after) are followed by a personal pronoun (like noi, me, or te), Italian requires you to insert di. Therefore, it is always contro di noi, never just contro noi.

Why is the subject pronoun Voi explicitly stated here?

While Italian typically drops subject pronouns, adding Voi at the beginning creates a strong contrast. It emphasizes Voi (the ones doing the conspiring) versus the implied 'we' in espelliamo (the ones choosing to be lenient).

Could I say non espelliamo vi instead?

No, vi is an unstressed direct object pronoun meaning 'you' (plural). Unlike the stressed, or 'tonic', pronoun noi which sits after a preposition, unstressed object pronouns must go immediately before the conjugated verb: non vi espelliamo.

Is the verb espelliamo regular?