trovarla

Trovarla is a grammatical form in Italian that combines the verb trovare (to find) with the clitic feminine direct object pronoun la. The resulting infinitive trovarla literally means “to find her,” or more generally “to find it” when la refers to a feminine singular noun previously mentioned in the discourse. It is a standard example of how Italian attaches clitic pronouns to infinitives and other non-finite verb forms.

Usage in ordinary speech and writing is widespread. Trovarla appears in sentences such as Voglio trovarla (I want to find her/it), Devo trovarla (I must find her/it), and Non riesco a trovarla (I can’t find her/it). It also occurs after prepositions: per trovarla (in order to find her/it), senza trovarla (without finding her/it). In compound tenses the pronoun remains attached to the infinitive or to the preceding auxiliary: L'ho trovata (I have found her/it), Dov'è l'hai trovata? (Where did you find her/it?).

Linguistic notes accompany its use. The pronoun la must agree in gender and number with the feminine singular object it replaces. It can refer to people or things, including abstract feminine nouns, and its reference is determined by context. When the sentence is restructured or the tense changes, the pronoun placement follows Italian clitic rules, typically appearing before the auxiliary in perfect tenses or attached to the infinitive in non-finite forms.

See also: Italian pronoun clitics; trovare; pronoun placement in Italian.