Note the difference between the two sentences ‘Non mi piace il caffè’ and
‘A me non piace il caffè’. The first simply states that I don’t like coffee, while
the second puts the emphasis on the pronoun ‘me’, implying that there are
people who do like coffee but I am not one of them. The same applies to
the sentences ‘Mi sembra giusto’ and ‘A me sembra giusto’: the second
sentence stresses the fact that there are other people who don’t think it’s
fair.
3 As the above examples suggest, stressed direct and indirect object pro-
nouns cannot be used to refer to objects. When referring to objects, the noun
has to be repeated (as is also generally the case in English):
4 The stressed forms of the object pronouns are used after all prepositions
(see Unit 8), not just a. This is true even when no emphasis is required:
- When su, sopra, dopo, contro are used with a personal pronoun, the pro-
noun is preceded by the preposition di (see Unit 8, paragraphs 9, 20).
5 The stressed forms are also always used when the verb has two pronoun
direct or indirect objects, even where no emphasis is required:
‘Prendi la frutta e il dolce?’ ‘Prendo
la frutta, ma non il dolce.’ [Not
‘Prendo lei, ma non lui.’]
‘Porti la chitarra e i CD?’ ‘Porto i
CD ma non la chitarra.’ [Not
‘Porto loro ma non lei.’]‘Are you having the fruit and the
sweet?’ ‘I’m having the fruit, but
not the sweet.’
‘Are you bringing the guitar and the
CDs?’ ‘I’ll bring the CDs, but not
the guitar.’ [or, at a pinch, ‘I’ll bring
them, but not it.’]Vengo con Lei, Signora.
Chi di loro non vuole venire?
Puoi dormire da me, stasera.
Faccio questo per te.
Puoi contare su di me.*
Dopo di te* ci sono io.
Non ho nulla contro di voi.*I’m coming with you(, Madam).
Which of them doesn’t want to come?
You can sleep at my place tonight.
I’m doing this for you.
You can count on me.
After you it’s me/my turn.
I’ve got nothing against you.Ho visto te e lui in città. [not Ti e lo ho
visto in città.]
Invito voi e loro. [not Vi e li invito.]
Scrive a te e a me. [not Ti e mi scrive.]
Regaliamo fiori a loro e a lei. [not
Gli e le regaliamo fiori.]I saw you and him in town.I’m inviting you and them.
He writes to you and me.
We’re giving flowers to them and
her.