Italian 2.1. Prepositions

Prepositions are essential in the constructions of sentences in any language including Italian.

List of Prepositions in Italian

Here are some of the most used prepositions in Italian with the most common meanings in different contexts.

Contraction of Prepositions with the Definite Article

The prepositions “a,” “da,” “di,” “in,” and “su” contract when followed by a definite article.

Remember that there are seven definite articles in Italian: “l’,” “lo,” “il,” “la,” “i,” “gli,” and “le.”

This results in the following possible combinations of prepositions in Italian:

Although optional, you may also use or encounter the following three contractions of the preposition “con” (with), especially in spoken Italian:

Other prepositions in Italian do not contract.

Examples

Contractions add to the complexity of the prepositions in Italian. Practice is your best approach to learn them. Here are some examples:

Dropping the Definite Article in Common Expressions

The definite article is dropped from some expressions that are commonly used in daily life such as: “a casa” (at home), “in macchina” (by car), “in centro” (in downtown), etc.

“a”

The preposition “a” is used to mean “in” when referring to the proper name of a city (or a smaller area), e.g., “Vivo a Roma” (I live in Rome).

For larger areas, we use the preposition “in,” e.g., “Vivo in California” (I live in California), “L’ho visto in Spagna” (I saw it in Spain).

“in”

The preposition “in” generally means “in” in English.

However, when referring to a destination that is larger than a city, the preposition “in” can also be translated as “to,” e.g., “Andrò in California” (I will go to California), “Ho viaggiato in Spagna” (I traveled to Spain).

“Da”

The preposition “da” can have several meanings:

1. The basic meaning of “from” in English with its versatile use to indicate the starting point of a movement, source or origin, separation, etc.

For example:

2. The equivalent of “since” or “for” in time expressions that typically use the present perfect or present perfect continuous tense in English.

For example:

Notice that, in Italian, the present tense is used before “da” to convey the equivalent meaning in English.

Keep in mind that to describe a defined duration in the future, the preposition “per” must be used instead. For example:

3. The equivalent of “to” or “for” when used to indicate purpose or reason.

For example:

4. The meaning of being at someone’s house or workplace. In this context, “da” is often translated as “at,” but can also mean “to” if preceded by the verb “go.”

For example:

5. The meaning of the preposition “by” in English, referring to an agent in the passive voice.

For example:

6. The expression “as (a) …” in English.

For example:

Expressing the Meaning of “about” in Italian

To express the meaning of “about” (e.g., to talk about someone or watch a documentary about something), we often use “su” or “circa.” For example:

In some contexts, we could use “di” to mean “about.” For example:

The Prepositions “Tra” & “Fra”

The preposition “tra” or “fra” often means “between.”

If used to indicate the future, it can mean “in,” as in: “Ci vediamo tra un mese” (See you in a month).

Next: Present Indicative Tense II: Irregular Verbs

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