Language/Italian/Grammar/When-use-LI-and-GLI

Hello Italian learners!

In today's lesson, we will learn how to make the difference between "gli" and "li".

"gli" and "li" are often confused because their pronunciation is similar although they do not have the same meaning nor the same grammatical function.

NB : In reality, many Italian learners have a hard time to get the exact pronunciation of GLI. They pronounce Gli the same as Li. See this lesson to learn how to pronounce GLI.

First of all, here is the only thing they have is common: both "gli" and "li" are masculine pronouns.

Li

"Li" is used as a pronoun in the construction of the direct object when it is masculine plural.

For the masculine singular we use "lo". For the feminine singular we use "la", for the feminine plural "le" and for the masculine plural, we use "li".

Example:

• Hai visto i film di Fellini? Sì, li vedo sempre con grande piacere.

Have you seen the Fellini movies? Yes, I always watch them with great pleasure.

Gli

"Gli" is used as a pronoun in the construction of the complement for a masculine singular. For the feminine singular, we use "le". For the plural, we use "a loro", and it is invariable in gender.

Example:

• Giuseppe ha freddo. Non gli hai dato la tua giacca ?

Joseph is cold. Didn't you give him your jacket?

Some informations for Lİ and GLİ in Italian

	Lİ
	"Li" is used as a pronoun in the construction of the direct object when it is masculine plural. For the masculine singular we use "lo". For the feminine singular we use "la", for the feminine plural "le" and for the masculine plural, we use "li".
English	Example: Have you seen the Fellini movies? Yes, I always watch them with great pleasure.
Italian	Example: Hai visto i film di Fellini? Sì, li vedo sempre con grande piacere.
Brazilian Portuguese	Exemplo: Tem visto dos filmes do Fellini? Sim, os assisto sempre com muito prazer

.

	GLİ
	"Gli" is used as a pronoun in the construction of the complement for a masculine singular. For the feminine singular, we use "le". For the plural, we use "a loro", and it is invariable in gender.
English	Example: Joseph is cold. Didn't you give him your jacket?
Italian	Example: Giuseppe ha freddo. Non gli hai dato la tua giacca ?
Brazilian Portuguese	Exemplo: Giuseppe está com frio. Não deu a ele a jaqueta dele ?

.

Thanks for your attention and see you later for more Italian lessons. :)

Feel free to edit this page if you think it can be improved.

Vincent

Sources

Giorgiotave.it

https://polyglotclub.com/language/italian/question/155