Pronoun Placement with Infinitives, Imperatives and Gerunds

In brief

In Italian, a short object or reflexive pronoun can attach to the end of an infinitive, an affirmative command, or a gerund. It then forms one written word with the verb. This is a placement rule: the pronoun still refers to the same person or thing.

Form

Infinitive: comprare + lo → comprarlo (drop final -e). Affirmative command: porta + mi → portami. Gerund: vedendo + la → vedendola.

Usage

• After a modal verb, you can attach the pronoun to the infinitive or put it before the conjugated verb: Voglio comprarlo / Lo voglio comprare.
• Attach the pronoun to an affirmative command: Portami il libro. With a negative tu command, either place it before the infinitive or attach it: Non lo comprare / Non comprarlo.
• Attach the pronoun to a gerund: vedendola. With stare + gerund, it may instead go before stare: Sto guardandola / La sto guardando.

Examples

• Voglio comprarlo domani. — I want to buy it tomorrow.
• Portami il libro, per favore. — Bring me the book, please.
• Non lo comprare adesso. — Don’t buy it now.
• Vedendola arrivare, l’ho salutata. — When I saw her arrive, I greeted her.

Common mistake

❌ Voglio comprarelo.

✅ Voglio comprarlo.

When a pronoun attaches to an infinitive, remove the infinitive’s final -e first: comprare + lo becomes comprarlo.

Remember

Attached pronouns are written as part of the verb, without a space.