A2.34 - To be retired

Agreement between direct object pronouns and the past participle

L'accordo tra i pronomi diretti e il participio passato

I pronomi diretti alla terza persona vanno in accordo con il participio passato.

(Third-person direct object pronouns agree with the past participle.)

What this grammar is doing (in one line)

You replace a direct object (the thing/person you see, read, call, do) with lo / la / li / le, put the pronoun before the auxiliary avere, and the past participle often agrees with that pronoun.

Step 1 — Identify the direct object (what? whom?)

  • Hai letto le email? → What did you read? le email (direct object)
  • Avete visto la mia amica? → Whom did you see? la mia amica
  • Ha chiamato i pensionati? → Whom did he call? i pensionati

Tip: If you can answer with “it / him / her / them” in English, you probably have a direct object pronoun in Italian.

Step 2 — Choose the correct pronoun (lo / la / li / le)

Object you replace Pronoun Meaning
masculine singular (il modulo, il collega) lo (→ l’ before a vowel) it / him
feminine singular (la collega, la lettera) la (→ l’ before a vowel) it / her
masculine plural (i pensionati, i documenti) li them (masc.)
feminine plural (le email, le lettere) le them (fem.)

Step 3 — Word order with passato prossimo (the key move)

  • Normal: Ho letto le email.
  • With pronoun: Le ho lette. (pronoun before ho)

Formula: lo/la/li/le + avere + participio passato

Step 4 — Past participle agreement (when you must pay attention)

When the direct object pronoun comes before avere, the past participle usually agrees in gender and number:

Pronoun Agreement on participle Correct example
lo masc. sing. → -o L’ho visto. (a man / a masculine thing)
la fem. sing. → -a L’ho vista. (a woman / a feminine thing)
li masc. pl. → -i Li ha chiamati.
le fem. pl. → -e Le abbiamo lette.

Common mistakes (and quick fixes)

  • Wrong position: Ho l’visto → L’ho visto
  • Missing agreement: Le abbiamo letto → Le abbiamo lette
  • Wrong pronoun type (direct vs indirect):
    chiamare usually takes a direct object → Lo/La/Li/Le ho chiamati/e (not gli/le).
  • Don’t guess gender from English: “it” can be lo or la. Use the Italian noun: il modulo → lo, la pensione → la.

The “optional agreement” note (why you may hear two versions)

With noi/voi and especially with mi/ti/ci/vi, in real life you may hear both forms:

  • Mi hanno chiamato. (neutral / common)
  • Mi hanno chiamata. (speaker is female; agreement made explicit)

For lo/la/li/le in these exercises, follow the table: make the participle agree.

Self-check before you submit an answer

  1. Did I replace the object with the correct lo/la/li/le?
  2. Did I put the pronoun before ho/hai/ha/abbiamo/avete/hanno?
  3. Does the participle match the pronoun? -o / -a / -i / -e
  4. If the pronoun becomes l’, did I write it correctly? L’ho… / L’abbiamo…
  1. The direct object pronoun replaces the direct object.
  2. The direct object pronoun must be placed before the auxiliary verb "avere".
Pronome (Pronoun)Verbo avere + participio (Verb avere + past participle)Esempio (Example)
LoAvere + fatto (To have + done)Hai fatto volontariato? Sì, l'ho fatto. (Have you done volunteering? Yes, I have done it.)
LaAvere + visto (To have + seen)Avete visto la mia amica? Sì, l'abbiamo vista. (Have you seen my friend? Yes, we have seen her.)
LiAvere + chiamato (To have + called)Ha chiamato i pensionati? Sì, li ha chiamati. (Has he called the retirees? Yes, he has called them.)
LeAvere + letto (To have + read)Avete letto le lettere? Sì, le abbiamo lette. (Have you read the letters? Yes, we have read them.)

Exceptions!

  1. Agreement is optional in the first and second person, singular and plural: you can say both'non mi hanno chiamato', sia 'non mi hanno chiamata'. .

Exercise 1: Multiple choice

Instruction: Choose the correct answer

1. Hai visto la nuova attività di volontariato del quartiere? Sì, ____ ieri online.

Have you seen the new neighborhood volunteering activity? Yes, ____ yesterday online.

2. Hai chiamato i pensionati per la riunione? Sì, ____ questa mattina.

Did you call the retirees for the meeting? Yes, ____ this morning.

3. Avete letto le informazioni sulla pensione sul sito dell'INPS? Sì, ____ con calma.

Did you read the information about the pension on the INPS website? Yes, ____ carefully.

4. Hai fatto volontariato quando avevi più tempo libero? Sì, ____ per due anni.

Did you do volunteer work when you had more free time? Yes, ____ for two years.

Exercise 2: Multiple Choice

Instruction: Choose the correct sentence.

1.
With "avere" without the direct object pronoun before the verb, agreement is optional; the correct and neutral form is "abbiamo letto" — here the position of the pronoun is incorrect.
Agreement error: with "le" the participle must be feminine plural (lette), not "letto".
2.
The direct object pronoun before the auxiliary is missing: with "avere" without a pronoun you say "ha chiamato", not "ha chiamati".
Agreement error: with "li" the participle must be masculine plural (chiamati), not "chiamato".

Exercise 3: Rewrite the phrases

Instruction: Rewrite the answers by replacing the direct object with the direct pronoun (lo/la/li/le) and placing it before the auxiliary avere; make the past participle agree when necessary (e.g.: l’ho fatto, l’abbiamo vista, li ha chiamati, le abbiamo lette).

Show/Hide translation Show/Hide hints
  1. Hai compilato il modulo per la pensione? Sì, ho compilato il modulo.
    ⇒ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Example
    Hai compilato il modulo per la pensione? Sì, l'ho compilato.
    (Did you fill out the pension form? Yes, l’ho filled it out.)
  2. Avete visto la nuova collega dell'ufficio HR? Sì, abbiamo visto la nuova collega.
    ⇒ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Example
    Avete visto la nuova collega dell'ufficio HR? Sì, l'abbiamo vista.
    (Did you see the new colleague in the HR office? Yes, l’abbiamo seen her.)
  3. Marco ha chiamato i pensionati per l'incontro? Sì, Marco ha chiamato i pensionati.
    ⇒ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Example
    Marco ha chiamato i pensionati per l'incontro? Sì, li ha chiamati.
    (Did Marco call the retirees for the meeting? Yes, li ha called them.)
  4. Avete letto le email dell'associazione di volontariato? Sì, abbiamo letto le email.
    ⇒ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Example
    Avete letto le email dell'associazione di volontariato? Sì, le abbiamo lette.
    (Did you read the emails from the volunteer association? Yes, le abbiamo read them.)

Exercise 4: Grammar in action

Instruction: As a couple, plan together a typical week after retirement.

Show/Hide translation
Situation
Parli con un collega pensionato delle attività e del tempo libero.
(You talk with a retired colleague about activities and free time.)
Discuss
  • Quali attività pensi di fare dopo la pensione e perché? (What activities do you think you will do after retirement and why?)
  • Hai già provato il volontariato o un nuovo passatempo? Racconta com’è andata usando i pronomi diretti. "L’ho fatto" o "L’ho provato" sono utili qui; perché? (Have you already tried volunteering or a new hobby? Tell how it went using direct object pronouns. "I did it" or "I tried it" are useful here; why?)
Useful words and phrases
  • Andare in pensione - avere tempo libero (To retire - to have free time)
  • Il volontariato - l’ho fatto (Volunteering - I did it)
  • Il passatempo - mi piace leggere; le ho lette tutte (The hobby - I like reading; I have read them all)
Use in conversation
  • L’ho fatto / L’hai fatto (I did it / You did it)
  • L’abbiamo vista / L’hanno vista (We saw it / They saw it)

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Fabio Pirioni

Bachelor in Humanities

University of Udine

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Last Updated:

Friday, 17/04/2026 00:08