Subject Pronouns

Subject pronouns are the words you use to refer to the person or thing performing an action: I, you, he, she, we, they. Italian has more subject pronouns than English because it distinguishes between formal and informal "you", and between masculine and feminine "they".

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The Complete List

Italian	English	Person
io	I	1st person singular
tu	you (informal)	2nd person singular
lui	he	3rd person singular
lei	she	3rd person singular
Lei	you (formal)	3rd person singular (formal)
noi	we	1st person plural
voi	you all / you (plural)	2nd person plural
loro	they	3rd person plural

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Understanding Each Pronoun

io — I

Io is the Italian word for "I". Unlike English, it is not capitalised unless it begins a sentence.

Italian	English
Io sono Marco.	I am Marco.
Non sono io.	It is not me.

tu — you (informal, singular)

Use tu with people you know well: friends, family, children, and peers.

Italian	English
Tu sei italiano?	Are you Italian?
Come stai, tu?	How are you?

lui / lei — he / she

Lui and lei refer to third-person singular, matching biological or grammatical gender.

Italian	English
Lui è mio fratello.	He is my brother.
Lei è professoressa.	She is a professor.

Note: In older or very formal Italian, you may encounter egli (he) and ella (she). These are now considered literary and are rarely used in everyday speech.

Lei — you (formal, singular)

Lei with a capital L is the formal way to say "you" to one person. It uses the same verb forms as lui/lei (third person singular).

Italian	English
Lei è il signor Rossi?	Are you Mr Rossi?
Come sta, Lei?	How are you? (formal)
Lei parla inglese?	Do you speak English? (formal)

When to use Lei (formal):

• With strangers and people you do not know well
• With elderly people (as a sign of respect)
• In professional and business situations
• In shops, restaurants, and official contexts
• With authority figures

When to use tu (informal):

• With friends and family
• With children
• Among young people
• When someone invites you to use tu (Dammi del tu!)

Cultural Note: Italy is generally less formal than it once was, but using Lei with strangers and in professional settings remains standard. If in doubt, start with Lei. The other person may say Diamoci del tu! (Let us use tu with each other!) to switch to informal.

noi — we

Italian	English
Noi siamo studenti.	We are students.
Noi andiamo al cinema.	We are going to the cinema.

voi — you all / you (plural)

Voi is used when addressing two or more people, regardless of formality in modern Italian.

Italian	English
Voi siete pronti?	Are you all ready?
Dove andate voi?	Where are you all going?

Note: In very formal contexts (official correspondence, addressing a group of important people), Loro (capitalised) can be used as a formal plural "you", but this is increasingly rare. Voi is standard for both formal and informal plural in modern Italian.

loro — they

Italian	English
Loro sono italiani.	They are Italian.
Loro parlano francese.	They speak French.

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Pronoun Dropping (Pro-Drop)