| PRONOMI PERSONALI/ subject pronouns | |
| Singular |
Plural |
| io (I) | noi (we) |
| tu (you, informal) | voi (you, formal and informal) |
| lui (he)/ lei (she)/ Lei (you, formal) | loro (they) |
Notes
- Lei is the subject pronoun used to address someone formally such as people you don’t know well; people to whom you want to show respect (e.g., your professor, your boss or anyone in a position of authority). Lei is capitalized to show it is the formal form for you (as distinguished from ‘lei’ meaning the 3rd person singular masculine subject pronoun. Some older people use Lei in conversation even if they have known the person for years.
- Tu is the subject pronoun used to address someone informally such as friends, relatives or when talking to children.
- Most of the time, using the subject pronoun can be avoided since the subject of a verb is clear from the verb ending. However, the subject pronoun can be used for emphasis or to avoid misunderstanding as to who is the subject.
- Voi is the subject pronoun used in both formal and informal situations to address two or more people.
- Loro is the subject pronoun for they.
