The words "lui" (he/him) and "lei" (she/her) are "personal pronouns".

During the intermediate course we begin to refine the Italian language and to go deeper into its use. Note the following verses:

"Tanto gentile e tanto onesta pare

la donna mia quand'ella altrui saluta..."

(So gentle and so honest does my lady appear

when she greets others...)

These are the opening lines of a famous poem by Dante (Vita nova).

Note that Dante uses the word "ella" instead of "lei".

Of course Dante is right!

In fact, the correct Italian grammar says that the subject pronouns are: "egli, ella" (he, she - for people), "esso, essa" (it - for animals or things) "essi, esse" (they - for animals, objects or people). Formally, "lui" and "lei" are only object pronouns.

These sentences are correct: Egli va al cinema. (He goes to the movies.)
Il mio gatto è simpatico, esso gioca sempre. (My cat is nice, it always plays.)

Stasera chiamo lui. (This evening I call him).

But in the evolution of the language, the correct use of subject pronouns got lost. We find it mainly in written and formal Italian.

"Lui" and "lei" have taken over.

These sentences are formally incorrect but they are commonly used: Lui va al cinema. (He goes to the movies.)
Il mio gatto è simpatico, lui gioca sempre. (My cat is nice, it always plays.)

"Ciò" (this) along with "questo" (this), is used to refer to the preceding sentence or to an abstract concept.

Esempio: Dicono che in politica vince la furbizia. Ciò è male: deve vincere l'onestà.

Dicono che in politica vince la furbizia. Questo è male: deve vincere l'onestà.

(They say that in politics, cunning wins. This is bad: honesty must win.)

Many students are still confused with the use of "più", "più di" or "di più".

Here are some general rules that can help.

"Più" is used alone:

1. in negative sentences:

Non ti parlo più. (I'm not going to talk to you anymore)

Non ne posso più. (I can't take it anymore)

Non pensarci più. (Forget about it.)

2. before verbs, adjectives and adverbs:

Parla più lentamente. (Speak more slowly.)

Preferisco la carne più cotta. (I prefer the meat more cooked.)

Più studiamo, più impariamo. (The more we study, the more we learn.)

3. in mathematics:

Tre più tre = sei. (Three plus three = six.)

4. in idioms:

Né più né meno. (Neither more nor less.)

Chi più, chi meno. (Someone has more, someone less.)

Chi più ne ha, più ne metta. (So on, and so forth.)

"Più di" is used:

1. in comparisons between nouns or pronouns:
Pino è più simpatico di Roberto (Pino is nicer than Roberto).
Roberto è più simpatico di me (Roberto is nicer than me).

2. with numerals and pronouns:
Ci sono più di 10 studenti (there are more than 10 students).
Loro lavorano più di voi (they work more than you).

"Di più" is used when it has a predicative value (i.e. it is related to the verb):

Devi praticare di più l'italiano. (You have to practice more Italian.)

Bisogna impegnarsi di più. (We must make a greater effort.)

The main character of a film is the "protagonist".

The word "protagonista" is irregular, it belongs to a group of nouns that end in "ista" and that (in the singular) have the same form for the feminine and the masculine: