Direct object pronouns

First of all: what is a direct object? Anything that can answer the questions What? and Who? is a direct object, as in Compro i peperoni and Oggi vedo mia sorella, where peperoni and mia sorella are direct objects of the verbs comprare and vedere.  Consider the following example:

In the example above, li stands for i peperoni. We use li to avoid repeating the word peperoni.  Li is a pronoun, that is, it stands in the place of a noun, in this case, a direct object. Here is the complete list of direct pronouns:

Like ci and ne, these pronouns always go before the conjugated verb, i.e.: la compro, vi vedo, etc.  However, when there is a verb + an infinitive, it can go either before the conjugated verb or be attached to the end of the infinitive after you have dropped the last letter of the infinitive, as in assaggiare > assaggiar. Consider the two possible answers to the following question:

Hai già assaggiato la frittata?

• No, ma la voglio assaggiare subito.
• No, ma voglio assaggiarla subito.