Here it is: why don't they use "lo" in the answer?

Question

I am listening to some Italian Language tapes to learn Italian. They are having a conversation about coffee and sugar, etc., and one of them is supposed to say "Yes, here it is" (regarding the sugar) in Italian. The response on the tape is;

"Sì, ecco."
Why isn't it the following? "Sì, eccolo."

(lo zucchero)

Note that in Italian even "here" is optional :) (you can say Ecco qua or Ecco qui) — Denis Nardin, Jan 31 '16 at 15:35
Oh, had not thought of that... So ecco is really a pretty useful all around word. — Msfolly, Jan 31 '16 at 15:58
If you want a little more confusion, it Italian is also possible to say: *Eccotelo qua!". But it is not a correct way to write such a sentence. — N74, Feb 01 '16 at 11:38
Also you could be less polite and just say "qua!" same as an English would say "here!".... hows that for confusion ;) ? — Erik vanDoren, Feb 02 '16 at 14:28
@Denis - Why would I say qua instead of qui? I think I like the sound of Eccoci qua! — Msfolly, Feb 04 '16 at 17:40
@Msfolly It sounds more natural to me too, but both are correct. I think that Eccoci qua is preferable to Eccoci qui in order to differentiate the final vowel, but as I said this is a matter of personal preference. — Denis Nardin, Feb 04 '16 at 19:53

score 4 · Accepted Answer · edited Jun 18 '20 at 08:30

Ecco : (adv.) is used to indicate that something or someone is coming. Personal pronouns can be added to the expression:

Si usa per richiamare l'attenzione su qualcuno o qualcosa che sopraggiunge, che sta per accadere e simili: Ecco la mamma che arriva; ecco, vengo!; ecco che mi torna la febbre.

Può essere unito ai pronomi personali atoni mi, ti, si, ci, vi, lo, la, li, le e ne in posizione encl.: eccoci qua!; eccomi!; eccone uno!

(Hoepli)

Here it is: why don't they use "lo" in the answer?

1 Answers1