Breakdown of Piantala, stai assillando il nonno!
il nonno
the grandfather
stare
to stay, to feel, to be
piantarla
to knock it off
assillare
to pester
Questions & Answers about Piantala, stai assillando il nonno!
What does the la in piantala refer to?
It does not refer to a specific feminine noun. Here, piantarla is a lexicalized pronominal verb where la is a fixed pronoun acting as a general 'it'—referring to 'the situation' or 'what you are doing'. Together, piantarla means to stop doing something annoying, much like the English phrase 'to knock it off'.
Why is the pronoun attached to the end to form piantala?
Could I just say assilli il nonno instead of stai assillando?
Yes, you could, but stai assillando strongly emphasizes that the pestering is happening right at this exact moment. Italian uses the stare plus gerund construction (-ando or -endo) more selectively than English uses its '-ing' form, specifically to highlight an ongoing action that is currently in progress.
I thought family members don't take the definite article. Why is it il nonno here?