Statement first, familiar part after
In dislocazione a destra, right dislocation, the sentence first contains only a pronoun. What it refers to follows at the end, after a short pause. The added part is known and unstressed; the weight lies on the sentence before it.
Blueprint
Lo prendo sempre al bar, il caffè.
I always have it at the bar, coffee.
Non ci vado mai, in palestra.
I never go there, the gym.
L'hai visto, il film di ieri?
Did you see it, yesterday's film?
Pronoun and tagged-on phrase
The pronoun matches the role of the tagged-on phrase, and the phrase keeps its preposition. For a direct object and for ne the pronoun is required.
What can go at the end
| Role | Example |
|---|---|
| direct object: lo, la, li, le | Le hai prese tu, le chiavi? |
| quantity: ne + di | Ne vuoi ancora, di torta? |
| place: ci + preposition | Ci sei mai stato, a Lisbona? |
| person: gli, le + a | Gli hai scritto, a Luca? |
| subject: no pronoun | È proprio simpatico, tuo fratello. |
A subject has no pronoun that has to appear in the sentence. The verb ending already shows the person, so the subject is simply added at the end.
Left or right
Both kinds of dislocation turn a known phrase into the topic. They differ in when the listener learns what you are talking about.
Same topic, two positions
Left: announce it
You set the topic deliberately, often to mark it off from another one or to bring it in.
La bici, la uso solo d'estate.
The bike, I only use in summer.
Right: hand it over afterwards
The topic is so present that you jump straight to the statement and add it only to be safe.
La uso solo d'estate, la bici.
I only use it in summer, the bike.
Right dislocation sounds familiar and emotional. It is typical of questions, exclamations and relaxed conversation: Che bello, questo posto! In formal texts and emails it comes across as too casual.
Spoken English has the same pattern: He's really nice, your brother. In Italian it is far more frequent and passes unnoticed even in careful everyday speech.
