lo, la, li, le before the participle
With avere the participle normally stays the same: Ho visto Maria. But when a direct object pronoun stands before the verb, the participle follows the pronoun. It takes its gender and number, just like an adjective: -o, -a, -i, -e. With lo, la, li, le this is required: Le ho comprate, not Le ho comprato.
English never does this: seen stays seen in I have seen him, her, them. So the habit of leaving the ending alone is exactly what you have to break.
Object moves to the front
The four endings
| Pronoun | Stands for | Sentence | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| lo / l' | masculine singular | L'ho comprato. | I bought it. |
| la / l' | feminine singular | L'ho comprata. | I bought it. |
| li | masculine plural | Li ho comprati. | I bought them. |
| le | feminine plural | Le ho comprate. | I bought them. |
comprare - comprato. The pronoun decides the ending.
lo and la both become l' before ho, hai, ha. English still shows the gender in him and her; Italian no longer does, so only the ending of the participle tells you whether a man or a woman is meant.
The same l', two meanings
L'ho visto in centro.
I saw him in the centre.
We are talking about Marco.
L'ho vista in centro.
I saw her in the centre.
We are talking about Maria.
In conversation
Hai scritto la lettera? – Sì, l'ho scritta stamattina.
Have you written the letter? – Yes, I wrote it this morning.
Hai preso i biglietti? – Sì, li ho presi online.
Did you get the tickets? – Yes, I got them online.
Dove sono le chiavi? – Le ho lasciate in macchina.
Where are the keys? – I left them in the car.
ne with a quantity
ne with a quantity triggers agreement too. The participle follows the noun that ne stands for, not the number.
Same number, different endings
Hai comprato le mele? – Sì, ne ho comprate due.
Did you buy apples? – Yes, I bought two.
Quanti romanzi hai letto? – Ne ho letti tre.
How many novels have you read? – I've read three.
C'era birra? – Sì, ma ne ho bevuta poca.
Was there any beer? – Yes, but I didn't drink much of it.
Where nothing agrees
Agreement depends on a direct object. With an indirect pronoun (the question is to whom? The full sentence would have an a) the participle stays as it is.
Direct against indirect
Direct pronoun → agree
Maria? L'ho vista stamattina.
Maria? I saw her this morning.
Le ragazze? Le ho invitate tutte.
The girls? I invited them all.
Indirect pronoun → unchanged
Maria? Le ho parlato stamattina.
Maria? I spoke to her this morning.
Marco? Gli ho scritto ieri.
Marco? I wrote to him yesterday.
