Double pronouns (indirect + direct pronouns combined)

Consider the following example:

Te la is a double pronoun: it’s the combination of ti + la (in this case, la stands in for camicia). Double pronouns, that is, the combination of an indirect pronoun with a direct pronoun (or ne), are extremely common in everyday conversation. Here are all the possible combinations:

A few examples:

1. Compri un regalo a Lisa per il suo compleanno? → No, non glielo compro. (glielo = le + lo)
2. Mio zio ha fatto la torta e me ne ha data un po’.   (me ne = mi + ne)

Notice that all the rules that apply to single pronouns also apply to double pronouns:

1. LO and LA become L’  when they precede the vowels o and a, as in l’ho mangiato; l’ha fatto…
2. When the direct object pronouns lo, la, li, le and ne precede the passato prossimo, the past participle changes to agree with the direct object pronoun, as in Hai preso le medicine alla nonna? → Sì, gliele ho prese.
3.  As you know, pronouns always go before the conjugated verb. However, where there is a verb + an infinitive, pronouns can go either before the conjugated verb or be attached to the end of the infinitive after you have dropped the last letter of the infinitive, as in prendere > prender. Consider the two possible answers to the following question:

Hai preso il regalo per il nonno ?

• No, ma glielo voglio prendere domani.
• No, ma voglio prenderglielo domani.

Double pronouns (reflexive + direct pronouns combined)

Consider another example:

Farsi is a reflexive verb. When the pronouns of reflexive verbs combine with a direct pronoun, you can also have double pronouns, which look exactly the same as the ones you have just seen above, except for the 3rd person in the singular and plural. Here are all the possible combinations:

A few examples:

1. Francesca si è tagliata i capelli? → No, non se li è tagliati, se li è solo legati.
2. Ti sei comprato un nuovo computer? → Sì, me lo sono comprato un mese fa. L’altro non funzionava più.