Prepositions

Prepositions are short words like "to", "of" and "in" that link a noun to the rest of the sentence. Italian has a handful of very common ones, and each covers several English words. Five of them also merge with "the": di + il becomes del, in + la becomes nella.

A: To, At

A is for cities and for going to or being at many everyday places.

• Vado a Roma. - I’m going to Rome.
• Abito a Milano. - I live in Milan.
• Vado a scuola. - I go to school.
• Sono a casa. - I’m at home.

It also marks the person you give or say something to, and clock times:

• Ho dato il libro a Marco. - I gave the book to Marco.
• Ci vediamo alle otto. - See you at eight.

Before a word starting with a, a often becomes ad: ad Anna - to Anna.

In: In, To

In is for countries, regions and many places you go into, both for "in" and "to".

• Vado in Italia. - I’m going to Italy.
• Abito in Francia. - I live in France.
• Lavoro in ufficio. - I work in the office.
• Sono in macchina. - I’m in the car.

It also says how you travel: in treno (by train), in macchina (by car), in autobus (by bus).

Notice the difference: cities take a (a Roma), countries take in (in Italia). Some places are fixed phrases you just learn: a scuola but in ufficio, a casa but in città.

Di: Of

Di means "of". It shows who owns something, what something is made of or contains, and what you talk about.

• il libro di Maria - Maria’s book
• un bicchiere di vino - a glass of wine
• Parliamo di calcio. - We’re talking about soccer.
• Penso di sì. - I think so.

With essere, di also says where someone is from:

• Sono di Milano. - I’m from Milan.
• Di dove sei? - Where are you from?

Before a vowel, di often becomes d': un bicchiere d’acqua (a glass of water), d’accordo (agreed, OK).

Da: From, Since, At Someone’s Place

Da means "from" a place or a starting point.

• Vengo da Roma. - I’m coming from Rome.
• Il treno parte da Milano. - The train leaves from Milan.
• dal lunedì al venerdì - from Monday to Friday

With people, it means "at" or "to" someone’s home or shop: Vado da Marco. - I’m going to Marco’s. Sono dal dottore. - I’m at the doctor’s.

For and Since

Da with the present tense says how long something has been going on. English uses "have been", Italian the present:

• Sono qui da due ore. - I’ve been here for two hours.
• Studio italiano da un anno. - I’ve been studying Italian for a year.

Su: On, About

Su means "on" or "on top of", and it can also mean "about" a subject, as in a book or a show.

• Il libro è sul tavolo. - The book is on the table.
• Il gatto dorme sul letto. - The cat is sleeping on the bed.
• un film sulla guerra - a movie about the war

For everyday talking about something, use di, not su: Parliamo di musica. - We’re talking about music.

Su is also "up" in a few phrases: Vado su. - I’m going up. Su, dai! - Come on!

Con and Senza: With and Without

Con means "with": who you’re with or what you use.

• Esco con gli amici. - I’m going out with friends.
• Preparo la cena con mio padre. - I’m making dinner with my father.
• un caffè con lo zucchero - a coffee with sugar

Senza means "without". It is often used with no article.

• un caffè senza zucchero - a coffee without sugar
• Non posso cucinare senza sale. - I can’t cook without salt.
• Sono partiti senza i figli. - They left without their children.

Before an infinitive, use senza alone: È uscito senza dire niente. - He went out without saying anything.

Per: For, Through, In Order To

Per means "for": a person, a purpose, or a length of time.

• Ho comprato un regalo per te. - I bought a gift for you.
• Studiamo per l’esame. - We’re studying for the exam.
• Ho dormito per dieci ore. - I slept for ten hours.

Before an infinitive, it means "in order to": Lavoro per vivere. - I work to live.

It also gives a destination when you set off, and a path through a place:

• il treno per Milano - the train to Milan
• Sono passato per il centro. - I went through downtown.

Tra and Fra: Between, In

Tra and fra mean exactly the same thing. Pick whichever sounds better; Italians often avoid tra next to another tr sound.

• tra la casa e la scuola - between the house and the school
• Sono seduto tra due amici. - I’m sitting between two friends.
• un segreto tra noi - a secret between us

For time, they mean "in" a certain amount of time from now:

• Arrivo tra cinque minuti. - I’ll arrive in five minutes.
• Ci vediamo fra una settimana. - See you in a week.

Prepositions With "The"

When a, di, da, in or su comes right before a definite article, the two join into one word. Di becomes de- and in becomes ne-.

• Vado al cinema. - I’m going to the movies.
• la casa dei miei genitori - my parents' house
• Metti il libro nella borsa. - Put the book in the bag.

Prepositions That Don’t Join

Con, per, tra and fra stay separate from the article:

• con il cane - with the dog
• per la cena - for dinner
• tra gli amici - among friends

In speech you may hear col (con il) and coi (con i), but the separate forms are always correct.

When There Is No Article

The merged forms appear only when there is a definite article. Many set phrases have none, so they keep the plain preposition: a casa, in Italia, in macchina, di Roma. Add a describing word or a plural, and the article comes back: nell’Italia del sud (in southern Italy), negli Stati Uniti (in the United States).