{"id":3972,"date":"2013-09-20T12:15:45","date_gmt":"2013-09-20T12:15:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/italian\/?p=3972"},"modified":"2013-09-20T13:18:55","modified_gmt":"2013-09-20T13:18:55","slug":"lei-or-lei-how-to-tell-you-from-her","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/italian\/lei-or-lei-how-to-tell-you-from-her\/","title":{"rendered":"Lei or Lei, how to tell you from her …"},"content":{"rendered":"

Recently, I wrote several posts about the formal personal pronoun \u201clei\u201d<\/strong> (you singular). I also explained that the use of the capital letter for the formal pronoun is an artificial distinction created by some grammar books to make it \u2018easier\u2019 to recognise. In reality, Lei<\/strong> (you) written with a capital letter is uncommon, and only found in extremely formal written communication. In everyday situations such as newspaper interviews, and dialogues in fictional writing, the formal pronoun is written with a lower case \u2018l\u2019, unless it\u2019s at the beginning of a sentence. So, whilst in the previous posts I focused on the distinction between the formal and informal \u2018you\u2019, i.e. lei<\/strong> vs. tu<\/strong>, today\u2019s article will focus on lei<\/strong> (formal you) vs. lei<\/strong> (she) and all its variations, i.e. lei<\/strong>, le<\/strong> and la<\/strong>. If you need to revise them you can check  this article<\/font><\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

The most important thing to notice here is that when I use the formal lei<\/strong> (you) I\u2019m talking directly to the person in question, whilst when I use lei<\/strong> with the meaning of \u2018she\u2019 I\u2019m talking about a female subject in the third person. So, the difference between lei<\/strong> = \u2018you\u2019 and lei<\/strong> = \u2018she\u2019 only really becomes clear from the context. Here are some practical examples:<\/p>\n

1. lei<\/strong> (verb subject):<\/p>\n

Non ho mai visto il film \u201cIl Caimano\u201d, lei<\/span> l\u2019ha visto?<\/strong> = I\u2019ve never seen the film \u201cIl Caimano\u201d, have you<\/strong><\/span> (formal) seen it?<\/em><\/p>\n

Non ho mai visto il film \u201cIl Caimano\u201d, sai se lei<\/span> l\u2019ha visto?<\/strong> = I\u2019ve never seen the film \u201cIl Caimano\u201d, do you know if she<\/strong><\/font> has seen it?<\/em><\/p>\n

2. lei<\/strong> (preceded by a preposition):<\/p>\n

Signor Rossi, c\u2019\u00e8 una lettera per lei<\/font> <\/strong>= Mister Rossi, there\u2019s a letter for you<\/strong> <\/span><\/em><\/span>(formal)<\/font><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Quando vedi Donatella dille che c\u2019\u00e8 una lettera per lei<\/font><\/strong> = When you see Donatella tell her that there\u2019s a letter for her<\/strong><\/font><\/em><\/font><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

3. le<\/strong> (abbreviation of \u201ca lei\u201d = to you\/her)<\/font><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Ah! \u00c8 stato in Inghilterra! Le <\/font>\u00e8 piaciuta? <\/strong>= Ah! You\u2019ve been to England! Did you<\/strong><\/font> (formal) like it?<\/em><\/p>\n

Ah! Donatella \u00e8 stata in Inghilterra! Le <\/font>\u00e8 piaciuta?<\/strong> = Ah! Donatella\u2019s been to England! Did she<\/strong><\/font> like it? <\/em><\/p>\n

4. la<\/strong> (direct object):<\/p>\n

Dottor Rossi, se \u00e8 occupato la<\/font> richiamo pi\u00f9 tardi = <\/strong>If you\u2019re busy, Doctor Rossi, I\u2019ll call you<\/strong><\/font> (formal) back later<\/em><\/p>\n

Se Donatella \u00e8 occupata la<\/font> richiamo pi\u00f9 tardi = <\/strong>If Donatella is busy, I\u2019ll call her<\/strong><\/font> back later <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Recently, I wrote several posts about the formal personal pronoun \u201clei\u201d (you singular). I also explained that the use of the capital letter for the formal pronoun is an artificial distinction created by some grammar books to make it \u2018easier\u2019 to recognise. In reality, Lei (you) written with a capital letter is uncommon, and only…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[59022,292107],"class_list":["post-3972","post","type-post","status-publish","hentry","category-grammar","tag-italian-formal-and-informal-ways-of-addressing-people","tag-lei-in-italian"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t