passamelo

Passamelo is an Italian imperative construction formed by the verb passare in the informal second-person singular form combined with attached clitic pronouns. The phrase literally means “pass it to me” and is commonly used in everyday speech to request that someone give or hand over a specific object.

Grammatically, passamelo follows the Italian rule that indirect object pronouns precede direct object pronouns when two clitics are attached to a verb. In this case, me is the indirect object pronoun and lo is the direct object pronoun. The resulting form is phonologically fused: passamelo. The gender and number of the object modify the final pronoun: passamela for a feminine singular object, passaglielo for a masculine singular object when referring to someone else (to him or to her), and so on. The exact form depends on who is receiving the item and what the item is.

Usage notes and examples: Passamelo, per favore. (Pass it to me, please.) Passamela non appena hai finito. (Pass it to me as soon as you’re done.) In polite or formal contexts, speakers may use a more courteous construction such as Potrebbe passarmelo, per favore? or Potrebbe passarmelo Lei? depending on the situation. The form is versatile in casual conversation and can be adapted to refer to different objects and recipients by adjusting the indirect and direct pronouns accordingly.

See also: clitic pronouns in Italian, imperative mood, Italian pronoun order, polite forms in Italian.