Pronomi diretti

A direct object is the direct recipient of the action described by the verb. Verbs that need a direct object are transitive ones. Direct object pronouns replace direct object nouns.

In Italian the forms of the direct object pronouns are as follows:

c1 c2>
Singular Plural
mi me ci us
ti you vi you
lo (m.) him, it li (m.) them
la (f.) her, it le (f.) them

Anna legge un libro (Anna reads a book) - Anna lo legge (Anna reads it)
Alex vede Lucia (Alex sees Lucia) - Alex la vede (Alex sees her)

As you can see from the examples, direct object nouns usually follow the verb, but object pronouns must be placed before the verb.
Anna invita gli amici (Anna invites friends) - Anna li invita (Anna invites them)

Note also that in negative sentences, the word non must come before the object pronoun.
Anna non li invita Anna does not invite them

Object pronouns are attached to the end of an infinitive (the final -e is dropped), and to the form ecco to express ‘here I am’, ‘here you are’, and so on.
Anna non vuole invitarli - Anna doesn't want to invite them
Vedi Anna? Eccola! - Can you see Anna? Here she is!

It is also possible to elide singular object pronouns in front of verbs that begin with a vowel, or with an h (forms of avere). However, the plural pronouns li and le are never elided.
M’ama, non m’ama - He loves me, he loves me not