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Grammar intermediate

Prepositions

Complete guide to simple and articulated prepositions in Italian.

Italian Prepositions (Preposizioni)

Prepositions are those little words that connect things together in a sentence! In Italian, they’re super important because they work a bit differently than in English. Let’s dive in and master them!

Simple Prepositions

In Italian, there are 9 simple prepositions: di, a, da, in, con, su, per, tra, fra

Let’s explore each one in detail!

DI (of, from, about)

Main uses:

  • Possession: Il libro di Marco (Marco’s book)
  • Origin/Material: Sono di Roma (I’m from Rome), Una tavola di legno (A wooden table)
  • Topic: Parliamo di politica (We’re talking about politics)
  • Partitive: Vorrei del pane (I’d like some bread)

Examples:

  1. La macchina di mio padre - My father’s car
  2. Un bicchiere di vino - A glass of wine
  3. Sono di Milano - I’m from Milan
  4. Parliamo di te - We’re talking about you
  5. Ho bisogno di aiuto - I need help

A (to, at, in)

Main uses:

  • Movement towards: Vado a casa (I’m going home)
  • Location (cities): Abito a Roma (I live in Rome)
  • Time: Alle tre (At three o’clock)
  • Indirect object: Do il libro a Maria (I give the book to Maria)

Examples:

  1. Vado a scuola - I’m going to school
  2. Abito a Firenze - I live in Florence
  3. Ci vediamo alle otto - See you at eight
  4. Telefono a mia madre - I’m calling my mother
  5. A domani! - See you tomorrow!

DA (from, by, at, since)

Main uses:

  • Movement from: Vengo da casa (I’m coming from home)
  • Agent (by): Un libro scritto da Dante (A book written by Dante)
  • At someone’s place: Vado da Maria (I’m going to Maria’s place)
  • Purpose: Occhiali da sole (Sunglasses - glasses for sun)
  • Since (time): Studio italiano da due anni (I’ve been studying Italian for two years)

Examples:

  1. Vengo dalla Francia - I come from France
  2. Vado dal dottore - I’m going to the doctor’s
  3. Abito da solo - I live alone
  4. Studio da tre ore - I’ve been studying for three hours
  5. Scarpe da tennis - Tennis shoes

IN (in, into, to)

Main uses:

  • Location (countries, regions): Vivo in Italia (I live in Italy)
  • Means of transport: Viaggio in treno (I travel by train)
  • Time (months, years, seasons): In estate (In summer), Nel 2020 (In 2020)
  • Movement into: Entro in casa (I enter the house)

Examples:

  1. Vado in Italia - I’m going to Italy
  2. Viaggio in macchina - I travel by car
  3. In primavera - In spring
  4. Nel mese di maggio - In the month of May
  5. In centro - In the center/downtown

CON (with)

Main uses:

  • Company: Vado con te (I’m going with you)
  • Means/Instrument: Scrivo con la penna (I write with a pen)
  • Manner: Con piacere (With pleasure)

Examples:

  1. Vado al cinema con gli amici - I’m going to the cinema with friends
  2. Caffè con latte - Coffee with milk
  3. Parlo con Maria - I’m talking with Maria
  4. Con calma - Calmly
  5. Con chi esci? - Who are you going out with?

SU (on, upon, about)

Main uses:

  • Position above: Il libro è sul tavolo (The book is on the table)
  • Topic: Un libro sulla storia (A book about history)
  • Approximate numbers: Costa sui 50 euro (It costs around 50 euros)

Examples:

  1. Il gatto è sul divano - The cat is on the sofa
  2. Un documentario sull’Italia - A documentary about Italy
  3. Sui vent’anni - Around twenty years old
  4. Sali sulla macchina - Get in the car
  5. Conta su di me - Count on me

PER (for, through, in order to)

Main uses:

  • Purpose: Studio per imparare (I study to learn)
  • Duration: Per tre giorni (For three days)
  • Destination: Parto per Roma (I’m leaving for Rome)
  • Through: Passo per il parco (I pass through the park)
  • In favor of: Voto per questo candidato (I vote for this candidate)

Examples:

  1. Questo regalo è per te - This gift is for you
  2. Lavoro per otto ore - I work for eight hours
  3. Parto per la Francia - I’m leaving for France
  4. Per favore - Please
  5. Faccio sport per stare in forma - I do sports to stay in shape

TRA / FRA (between, among, in)

Main uses:

  • Between two things: Tra me e te (Between you and me)
  • Among many: Fra gli studenti (Among the students)
  • Time (in/within): Torno tra un’ora (I’ll be back in an hour)

Examples:

  1. Tra Roma e Napoli - Between Rome and Naples
  2. Fra amici - Among friends
  3. Tra poco - Soon/In a little while
  4. Scegli tra questi due - Choose between these two
  5. Torno fra cinque minuti - I’ll be back in five minutes

Articulated Prepositions (Preposizioni Articolate)

When the prepositions di, a, da, in, su meet a definite article, they combine to form one word!

Complete Table

illol’laiglile
dideldellodell’delladeideglidelle
aalalloall’allaaiaglialle
dadaldallodall’dalladaidaglidalle
innelnellonell’nellaneineglinelle
susulsullosull’sullasuisuglisulle

Note: con can form col and coi, but it’s more common to say con il and con i.

Examples of Articulated Prepositions

  1. del: Il libro del professore (The professor’s book)
  2. al: Vado al cinema (I’m going to the cinema)
  3. dal: Vengo dal supermercato (I’m coming from the supermarket)
  4. nel: Abito nel centro (I live in the center)
  5. sul: Il gatto è sul tetto (The cat is on the roof)
  6. della: La macchina della mia amica (My friend’s car)
  7. agli: Parlo agli studenti (I’m speaking to the students)
  8. dalle: Dalle otto alle dieci (From eight to ten)
  9. negli: Negli anni ‘90 (In the 90s)
  10. sulle: Sulle montagne (On the mountains)

Prepositions with Places

Cities

Use a for cities:

  • Vado a Roma (I’m going to Rome)
  • Abito a Parigi (I live in Paris)

Countries

Use in for most countries:

  • Vado in Italia (I’m going to Italy)
  • Abito in Francia (I live in France)

Exception: Use negli/nei for plural countries:

  • Negli Stati Uniti (In the United States)
  • Nei Paesi Bassi (In the Netherlands)

Regions

Use in for regions:

  • Vado in Toscana (I’m going to Tuscany)
  • Abito in Lombardia (I live in Lombardy)

Small Islands

Use a for small islands:

  • Vado a Capri (I’m going to Capri)

Large Islands

Use in for large islands:

  • Vado in Sicilia (I’m going to Sicily)

Verbs with Specific Prepositions

Some verbs always require specific prepositions:

  • Pensare a (to think about): Penso a te (I think about you)
  • Credere in (to believe in): Credo in te (I believe in you)
  • Parlare di (to talk about): Parliamo di sport (We talk about sports)
  • Andare a (to go to): Vado a casa (I’m going home)
  • Venire da (to come from): Vengo da Milano (I come from Milan)
  • Cominciare a (to start to): Comincio a capire (I’m starting to understand)
  • Finire di (to finish): Ho finito di mangiare (I finished eating)
  • Smettere di (to stop): Smetto di fumare (I’m quitting smoking)
  • Avere bisogno di (to need): Ho bisogno di aiuto (I need help)
  • Avere voglia di (to feel like): Ho voglia di gelato (I feel like ice cream)

Common Mistakes to Avoid

❌ Using the wrong preposition for places

  • Wrong: Vado in Roma
  • Right: Vado a Roma

❌ Forgetting articulated prepositions

  • Wrong: Vado a il cinema
  • Right: Vado al cinema

❌ Confusing a and in

  • Wrong: Abito in Milano
  • Right: Abito a Milano

❌ Using English preposition logic

  • Wrong: Penso su te (thinking of English “think of”)
  • Right: Penso a te

Practice Exercises

Fill in the blanks with the correct preposition:

  1. Vado _______ scuola ogni giorno.
  2. Il libro è _______ tavolo. (on the table)
  3. Vengo _______ Francia.
  4. Abito _______ Roma.
  5. Parto _______ Milano domani.
  6. Studio italiano _______ due anni.
  7. Vado _______ cinema stasera. (to the cinema)
  8. Questo regalo è _______ te.
  9. Torno _______ un’ora.
  10. Parliamo _______ politica.

Answers

  1. a
  2. sul
  3. dalla
  4. a
  5. per
  6. da
  7. al
  8. per
  9. tra/fra
  10. di

Fantastico! Prepositions take practice, but you’re getting the hang of it! 🎉