Italian prepositions
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Prepositions (preposizioni) link a word or a clause to another one (for example a noun to a verb) giving coherence and cohesion to the sentence.
Italian prepositions can be:
- proper, divided into simple and articulated
- improper
Lesson outline
Hide- 1.Proper prepositions
- 1.1.Simple prepositions
- 1.1.1.Sentences with "di"
- 1.1.2.Sentences with "a"
- 1.1.3.Sentences with "da"
- 1.1.4.Sentences with "in"
- 1.1.5.Sentences with "with"
- 1.1.6.Sentences with " su"
- 1.1.7.Sentences with "per"
- 1.1.8.Sentences with "tra/fra"
- 1.2.Articulated prepositions
- 1.2.1.Sentences with articulated prepositions
- 2.Improper prepositions
- 2.1.Sentences with improper prepositions
Proper prepositions
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Simple prepositions
Simple prepositions (preposizioni semplici) are the nine basic prepositions in Italian. They are always mentioned in the following order:
| Italian | English |
|---|---|
| di | of from |
| a | at to |
| da | by from |
| in | in to |
| con | with |
| su | on over |
| per | for to |
| tra / fra | between among |
Sentences with "di"
La finestra di questo ufficio è rotta
The window of this office is broken
Oggi abbiamo conosciuto la ragazza di Valencia
Today we met the girl from Valencia
Sentences with "a"
Sono stato a festa noiosa
I was at a boring party
Il mio collega va a Genova
My colleague goes to Genua
Sentences with "da"
Da ora in poi non comprerò più carne
From now on I will not buy meat anymore
Quella casa è stata costruita da un muratore tre anni fa
That house was built by a bricklayer three years ago
Sentences with "in"
In questo momento non so cosa fare
In this moment I don't know what to do
Abito in Piemonte da quando sono nata
I live in Piedmont since when I was born
Sentences with "with"
Ho comprato questa casa con il mio fidanzato
I bought this house with my boyfriend
Bevo il té con il limone
I drink tea with lemon
Sentences with " su"
Il vaso è su un tavolo
The vase is on a table
Somewhere over the rainbow birds fly
Da qualche parte sopra l'arcobalen volano gli uccelli
Sentences with "per"
Questa camicia è per mio padre
This shirt is for my father
Guardo film in inglese per impararlo meglio
I watch movies in english to learn it better
Sentences with "tra/fra"
Tra il computer e la bottiglia c'è il libro
Between the laptop and the bottle there is a book
Molti amici fra quelli che avete conosciuto, sono francesi
Several friends, among those you met, are French
Articulated prepositions
Articulated prepositions (preposizioni articolate) are simple prepositions joined with definite articles.
| + | il | lo | la | i | gli | le |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| di | del | dello | della | dei | degli | delle |
| a | al | allo | alla | ai | agli | alle |
| da | dal | dallo | dalla | dai | dagli | dalle |
| in | nel | nello | nella | nei | negli | nelle |
| con | col | / | / | coi | / | / |
| su | sul | sullo | sulla | sui | sugli | sulle |
| per | / | / | / | / | / | / |
| tra/fra | / | / | / | / | / | / |
As you can see from the table, not each simple preposition has all the six forms, while per and tra/fra have no articulated forms at all.
Sentences with articulated prepositions
Stare nel traffico della città è stressante
Staying in the traffic is stressful
Questo è il treno delle cinque
This is five o'clock train
I muri della mia casa sono bianchi
The walls of my house are white
Improper prepositions
"Improper prepositions" (preposizioni improprie) are words that can be used both with function of preposition or other parts of speech (adverbs, nouns,..).
Their function depends on the context.
When we have some expressions formed by more words we talk about "prepositional locutions" (locuzioni preposizionali).
Look at the following table with the most used improper prepositions and their meaning.
| Italian | English |
|---|---|
| attraverso | through, across |
| contro (di) | against |
| davanti a | in front of |
| dietro | behind |
| di fronte a | in front of |
| dopo (di) | after |
| entro | by |
| fuori (di) | outside of, out of |
| intorno a | around |
| prima (di) | before |
| verso | towards |
Sentences with improper prepositions
Molti miei colleghi sono contro le mie idee
A lot of my colleagues are against my ideas
Devo essere all'aeroporto entro le due
I have to be at the airport by two o'clock
Intorno a questa casa c'è un bel giardino
Around this house there is a beautiful garden
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