lei

2nd sg. hon.

- 3rd person sg feminine pronoun used for polite

address; agreement with the verb is, however,

controlled by the sex of the addressee, not the gender

category; etymologically, lei is an anaphoric pronoun

refering to the polite nominal expression La Vostra

Signoria 'Your Lordship'

loro

2nd pl. hon.

- 3rd person pl feminine pronoun used for polite

address; agreement with the verb is, however,

controlled by the sex of the addressees, not the gender

category

tu

2nd sg. fam.

voi

2nd sg. hon.

- the polite use of this 2nd pl pronoun is marked; voiis

the old politeness pronoun used way back in

feudal times

- it was then replaced by lei/ loro in Northern and

Middle Italy, in Southern Italy it is still used;

- it was prefered as a polite address by faschism;

since voi is less polite than lei it is usuallyavoided in

polite conversations

voi

2nd pl. fam.