Once when I was seeing and savoring Italy with a group of fellow taste travelers, someone asked me who my friend “Louie” was. They said I talked about him a lot. Not knowing the Italian language they didn’t realize that my friend “Louie” was actually spelled “Lui” and referred to the Italian personal pronoun for he or him. So when I would say “Lui mi piace” or “Mi piace Lui”, I wasn’t saying “I like Louie” as in a person by name but rather I was referring to someone of the male gender not necessarily named Louie.
from Seeing and Savoring Italy - A Taste and Travel Journey through Northern Italy, Tuscany and Umbria Confusing? All the more reason for you to know a little Italian when seeing a savoring Italy. But knowing a little Italian can be a dangerous thing. Phrase book Italian is confining and is a little like speaking from a script. Learning vocabulary is good but limited. What does this mean? It means that no matter what anyone has told you there is no “quick, easy, instant" way to learn the Italian language. A language has many dimensions and language without grammar and conjugation is a meaningless shell. Although an Italian phrase book is a good starting point for your first trip to Italy you will need to build on these rout sayings and idioms to carry on a conversation.
Personal Pronouns
Singular Plural I io We noi You tu You voi He/She lui/lei They, Them loro
