glielo

Glielo is an Italian combined clitic pronoun formed by joining the dative “gli” (to him/to it) and the accusative “lo” (him/it). It introduces a third-person singular masculine referent as both recipient and direct object in the same clause. As a clitic, it is unstressed and must immediately precede the verb in simple tenses (glielo do) or follow it in the imperative affirmative (dammelo). In negative imperatives and in most finite moods the order is non + clitic + verb (non glielo darei).

The component “gli” historically covered all genders, but modern Italian generally uses “le” for feminine datives. Varieties of Italian and some regional speech may still show older or overlapping uses. The accusative “lo” normally refers to masculine singular direct objects; feminine direct objects typically appear as “gliela” (gli + la). In the presence of an enclitic or proclitic cluster, “gli” attaches to the other clitic (non te l’ho detto; daglielo). The clitic is phonologically reduced (glièlo) and may merge with preceding vowels in rapid speech (te l’ho dato vs gli l’ho dato), though formal writing keeps the distinct forms.

Commonly glossed in English as “to him it” or “to him/her/it + him/it,” the clitic is often rendered by a simple dative in English (give him it → give it to him). In translation or analysis, its components may be separated for clarity (non glielo ho detto = non gli l’ho detto). The pattern glielo/gliela/gliele recurs across common verbs of giving, telling, and showing (glielo do, glielo dico, glielo mostro). The form does not change for number, but “gli” can also appear in the dative plural “gli diedi il libro” (I gave the book to them), while “lo” alone marks a single masculine direct object. Standard grammar emphasizes that the two clitics are distinct in function even when they are phonologically combined.