Prepositions: Simple and Articulated

The Prepositions

1. The most frequently used prepositions in Italian are as follows:
   
   

   di	-->	of, from
   a	-->	to, at
   da	-->	from
   in	-->	in, to
   con	-->	with
   su	-->	on
   per	-->	for
   tra (fra)	-->	between, among

   
   
2. Some of the above prepositions combine with definite articles when they precede them, making a special form of the preposition called a preposizione articolata (articulated preposition). Following is a table showing which prepositions combine with articles and how they do so.
   
   

   	il	lo	la	l’	i	gli	le
   di	del	dello	della	dell’	dei	degli	delle
   a	al	allo	alla	all’	ai	agli	alle
   da	dal	dallo	dalla	dall’	dai	dagli	dalle
   in	nel	nello	nella	nell’	nei	negli	nelle
   su	sul	sullo	sulla	sull’	sui	sugli	sulle
   con	col				coi

   
   NB: The preposition con only combines in two instances.
   
   Examples:
   
   

   Incontriamoci al caffè nell’aeroporto. Let’s meet at the café in the airport. Ha mangiato alle 13.00. She ate at 1pm. Avete preso in prestito dagli studenti questo libro? You borrowed this book from the students? L’ho visto sul serio! I saw it for real! Mostra interesse sullo stato dei fatti. He shows interest for the state of things. Quella ragazza col cuore infranto. That girl with the broken heart.

   
   

Uses

Place

1. The preposition a is usually used before the names of cities.
   
   

   Vivo a Roma. I live in Rome. Andiamo a Perugia. We are going to Perugia.

   
   
2. The preposition in is used with unmodified geographical names, such as the names of states, provinces, and countries.
   
   

   Giulia va in Francia. Giulia is going to France. Andiamo a sciare in California. We’re going skiing in California.

   
   NB: The grammar rules of traditional Standard Italian require the use of the articulated preposition before masculine geographical names, but in contemporary Italian the tendency is to use the simple preposition in before all geographical names.
   
   

   Il mio amico vive in (nel) Canadà. My friend lives in Canada. Tra poco vanno in (nel) Giappone. In a little bit they’re going to Japan.

   
   
3. The preposition in is used before unmodified places as well as rooms of a house. See the following list of common expressions.
   
   

   in banca	-->	in, at, to the bank
   in bagno	-->	in, to the bathroom
   in biblioteca	-->	in, at, to the library
   in campagna	-->	in, to the country
   in città	-->	in, to the city / downtown
   in centro	-->	in, at the city center / downtown
   in chiesa	-->	in, to the church
   in cucina	-->	in the kitchen
   in giardino	-->	in, to the garden
   in montagna	-->	in, to the mountains

   
   When these places are modified, however, use in + article. Observe the following differences.
   
   

   Andiamo in chiesa la domenica. We go to church on Sundays. Andiamo nella chiesa di San Pietro. We are going to St. Peter’s church.

   
   NB: Some exceptions to this rule are a casa, al mare, and a teatro.
   
   

   Luisa va a casa. Luisa is going home. A noi piace andare al mare. We like going to the beach.

   
   

Time

1. Before months, you may use either in or a. Before seasons, use either in or di (often elided in front of inverno and estate).
   
   

   Sono nata in (a) Novembre. I was born in November. Il tempo è bello d’estate. The weather is nice in the summer. In primavera piove molto. In the spring it rains a lot.

   
   NB: When the month or season is modified use the articulated form of in.
   
   

   È successo nell’ottobre del 1980. It happened in October 1980. L’ho visto nell’inverno del 2003. I saw him in the winter of 2003.

   
   
2. Before time, use the articulated forms of a or da in the feminine plural (except for one o’clock).
   
   

   Lavoro dalle 8 alle 17. I work from 8 to 5pm. Partiamo all’1. We’re leaving at 1.

   
   The expressions di mattina or del mattino, del pomeriggio, di sera or della sera, and di notte are used to make the distinction between AM and PM.
   
   

   Ci vediamo alle 10 di mattina. We’ll see each other at 10 in the morning. Mi sono svegliato alle 3 di notte! I woke up at 3 at night!

   
   
3. The prepositions fra/tra (which mean the same thing) are used to express in or within. The choice between “fra” and “tra” is exclusively a matter of euphony. Hence, expressions like “tra tre settimane” and “fra fratelli” are usually replaced with “fra tre settimane” and “tra fratelli”.
   
   

   Parte fra un’ora. She’s leaving in an hour. Arriviamo tra un paio di settimane. We’re arriving in a couple of weeks.

   
   
4. The preposition da is used in the present tense or in the past participle to mean for or since.
   
   

   - Da quanto tempo lavorate insieme? - Lavoriamo insieme da due anni. - How long have you been working together? - We’ve been working together for two years. Da quando l’ha conosciuto, è cambiata. Since she met him, she has changed.

   
   

Transportation


Many common expressions which convey methods of transportation take particular prepositions. Following is a list of the most common ones.



in barca	-->	by, on a boat
in bici (bicicletta)	-->	by, on bike
a cavallo	-->	by, on horseback
in macchina	-->	by, on car
a piedi	-->	by, on foot
in treno	-->	by, on train