Answers
Mar 24, 2013 - 08:57 AM
It boils down to agreeing with the noun. In the examples you provided, the difference is between singular and plural nouns. In the first example, comprarli-versus comprarlo, the endings relate to the noun being referred to. So "Lo" is referring to a singular masculine noun, like "libro" for example. If you are saying "to buy the book" but you use the pronoun instead of the word "libro", now you are saying "to buy IT", "it" referring to libro. Because libro is masculine and in singular form, you say "comprarlo". If you were buying "them", meaning more than one book, you would say "comprarli", because "li" refers to the plural masculine.
The same goes for quegli and quello. Its all about the endings matching up with the nouns. "that book" (or more accurately, "that one") would be quello. "Gli is used for masculine plural nouns that begin with a vowel or "z" or "s" plus a consonant.
If this makes sense, I'd suggest coming up with a list of nouns you are familiar with, feminine and masculine, and figure out which pronouns would go with each of the nouns. I already mentioned Libro, try this with Valigia/Valigie (comprarla or comprarle), Stadio, and others. It can get confusing, but the best thing is to slog through it and come up with your own examples for each case. If you have questions, post back here. Good luck!
The same goes for quegli and quello. Its all about the endings matching up with the nouns. "that book" (or more accurately, "that one") would be quello. "Gli is used for masculine plural nouns that begin with a vowel or "z" or "s" plus a consonant.
If this makes sense, I'd suggest coming up with a list of nouns you are familiar with, feminine and masculine, and figure out which pronouns would go with each of the nouns. I already mentioned Libro, try this with Valigia/Valigie (comprarla or comprarle), Stadio, and others. It can get confusing, but the best thing is to slog through it and come up with your own examples for each case. If you have questions, post back here. Good luck!
Mar 27, 2013 - 05:50 PM
With respect to "quegli" etc., check the responses to your previous inquiry here.