I pronomi soggetto: io, tu, lui/lei, noi, voi, loro
I pronomi soggetto: io, tu, lui/lei, noi, voi, loro means “Subject pronouns exist but are usually left out; using them adds emphasis”. Because the verb ending already says who acts, Italian normally drops the subject pronoun: parlo means 'I speak', no io needed. Formation: io · tu · lui/lei (Lei = forma di cortesia) · noi · voi · loro — di norma omessi
Subject pronouns exist but are usually left out; using them adds emphasis
A1Formation
io · tu · lui/lei (Lei = forma di cortesia) · noi · voi · loro — di norma omessi
Explanation
Because the verb ending already says who acts, Italian normally drops the subject pronoun: parlo means 'I speak', no io needed. You put the pronoun in for contrast (io lavoro, tu dormi), after anche/neanche (anche io), or when the verb form is ambiguous — sono is both 'I am' and 'they are'. Lei with a capital letter is the polite 'you' and takes third-person singular forms: Lei è italiano? Note that lui/lei replaced the older egli/ella, which now sound literary. Loro is both 'they' and the very formal plural 'you'.
Examples
Note
Over-using io/tu is one of the clearest learner accents — it makes Italian sound like translated English. Drop the pronoun unless you mean to stress it.
FAQ
I pronomi soggetto: io, tu, lui/lei, noi, voi, loro — what does it mean and how is it used?
Subject pronouns exist but are usually left out; using them adds emphasis. Because the verb ending already says who acts, Italian normally drops the subject pronoun: parlo means 'I speak', no io needed. You put the pronoun in for contrast (io lavoro, tu dormi), after anche/neanche (anche io), or when the verb form is ambiguous — sono is both 'I am' and 'they are'. Lei with a capital letter is the polite 'you' and takes third-person singular forms: Lei è italiano? Note that lui/lei replaced the older egli/ella, which now sound literary. Loro is both 'they' and the very formal plural 'you'.
I pronomi soggetto: io, tu, lui/lei, noi, voi, loro — how do you form it?
io · tu · lui/lei (Lei = forma di cortesia) · noi · voi · loro — di norma omessi
I pronomi soggetto: io, tu, lui/lei, noi, voi, loro — any usage notes?
Over-using io/tu is one of the clearest learner accents — it makes Italian sound like translated English. Drop the pronoun unless you mean to stress it.