a, di, da, in, su and per - PREPOSITIONS - Easy Learning Italian Grammar

Easy Learning Italian Grammar (2011)

PREPOSITIONS

2. a, di, da, in, su and per

1 a

a is used with nouns to tell you where.

alla porta	at the door
al sole	in the sun
all’ombra	in the shade
Vivo al terzo piano	I live on the third floor
È a letto	He’s in bed
alla radio	on the radio
alla tivù	on TV

Use a to mean to when you’re talking about going to a place.

Andiamo al cinema?	Shall we go to the cinema?
Sei mai stato a New york?	Have you ever been to New york?

Note that if the place is a country, use in in Italian.

Andrò in Germania quest’estate.

I’m going to Germany this summer.

Use a to mean at when you’re talking about being at a place.

Devo essere all’aeroporto alle dieci.	I’ve got to be at the airport at ten.
Scendo alla prossima fermata.	I’m getting off at the next stop.
Luigi è a casa.	Luigi is at home.

Use a to mean in when you’re talking about being in a town.

Abitano a Bologna.

They live in Bologna.

Note that if the place is a country, use in in Italian.

Vivo in Scozia.	I live in Scotland.
Vive in Canada.	He lives in Canada.

Use a to mean away when you’re talking about distances.

a tre chilometri da qui	three kilometres away from here
a due ore di distanza in macchina	two hours away by car

Note that away can be left out of this kind of phrase, but a has to be used in Italian.

L’albergo è ad un chilometro dalla spiaggia.

The hotel is a kilometre from the beach.

a is used with nouns to tell you when.

a volte	at times
a tempo	on time
alla fine	in the end

Use a to mean at with times and festivals.

alle cinque	at five o’clock
a mezzogiorno	at midday
al fine settimana	at the weekend
a Pasqua	at Easter
a Natale	at Christmas

Tip

Remember that questions beginning What time … must start with the preposition a in Italian.

A che ora parti?

What time are you leaving?

Use a with months to mean in.

Sono nata a maggio.

I was born in May.

a is used with nouns to tell you how.

a piedi	on foot
a mano	by hand
a poco a poco	little by little

Use a with flavours.

un gelato alla fragola	a strawberry ice cream
una torta al cioccolato	a chocolate cake
gli spaghetti al pomodoro	spaghetti with tomato sauce

a is used with nouns and pronouns after some verbs.

L’ho dato a Selene.	I gave it to Selene.
Piace a me, ma a mia sorella no.	I like it, but my sister doesn’t.
A che cosa stai pensando?	What are you thinking about?

For more information on Prepositions after verbs, see page 143.

Note that the unstressed pronouns mi, ti, gli, le, ci and vi come in front of the verb and are not used with a.

Ti ha parlato?	Did she speak to you?
Gliel’ho dato.	I gave it to her.
Mi piace.	I like it.

For more information on Indirect pronouns, see page 46.

a is used with the infinitive (the –re form of the verb)to say what your purpose is.

Sono uscita a fare due passi.	I went out for a little walk.
Sono andati a fare il bagno.	They’ve gone to have a swim.

2 di

di is used to talk about who or what something belongs to.

il nome del ristorante	the name of the restaurant
il capitano della squadra	the captain of the team
È di Marco.	It belongs to Marco.
Di chi è?	Whose is it?

Use di to refer to the person who made something.

un quadro di Picasso	a picture by Picasso
una commedia di Shakespeare	a play by Shakespeare
un film di Fellini	a Fellini film

In English, ownership can be shown by using a noun with ‘s, or s’ added to it, for example the child’s name, the boys’ teacher. In Italian you change the word order and use di to translate this sort of phrase.

la macchina di mia madre	my mother’s car (literally: the car of my mother)
la casa dei miei amici	my friends’ house
l’Otello di Verdi	Verdi’s Othello

For more information on Possessive adjectives and Possessive pronouns, see pages 34 and 52.

In English, when there is a connection between two things, one noun can be used in front of another, for example the car keys, the bathroom window. In Italian you change the word order and use di to translate this sort of phrase.

il tavolo della cucina	the kitchen table
il periodo delle vacanze	the holiday season
il professore di inglese	the English teacher
il campione del mondo	the world champion

When a noun such as cotton, silver, paper is used as an adjective, use di in Italian.

una maglietta di cotone	a cotton T-shirt
una collana d’argento	a silver necklace
dei tovaglioli di carta	paper napkins

di sometimes means from.

È di Firenze.	He’s from Florence.
Di dove sei?	Where are you from?

di is used to say what something contains or what it is made of.

un gruppo di studenti	a group of students
un bicchiere di vino	a glass of wine
È fatto di plastica.	It’s made of plastic.

di is used after milione (meaning million), and words for approximate numbers, such as un migliaio (meaning about a thousand) and una ventina (meaning about twenty).

un milione di dollari	a million dollars
un migliaio di persone	about a thousand people
una ventina di macchine	about twenty cars

di is used after certain verbs and adjectives.

Ti ricordi di Laura?	Do you remember Laura?
Sto tentando di concentrarmi.	I’m trying to concentrate.
Le arance sono ricche di vitamina C.	Oranges are rich in vitamin C.
Era pieno di gente.	It was full of people.

For more information on Prepositions after verbs and Adjectives, see pages 143 and 20.

Tip

Remember that some verbs are single words in English, but in Italian they are phrases ending with di, for example, aver bisogno di (meaning to need) and aver voglia di (meaning to want).

Non ho bisogno di niente.	I don’t need anything.
Non ho voglia di andare a letto.	I don’t want to go to bed.

di is used with nouns to say when.

di domenica	on Sundays
di notte	at night
di giorno	during the day

Use di to mean in with seasons and parts of the day.

d’estate	in summer
d’inverno	in winter

Note that in can also be used with seasons, for example, in estate (meaning in summer).

di mattina	in the morning
di sera	in the evening

di is used in comparisons to mean than.

È più alto di me.	He’s taller than me.
È più brava di lui.	She’s better than him.

Use di to mean in after a superlative.

il più grande del mondo	the biggest in the world
la più brava della classe	the best in the class
il migliore d’Italia	the best in Italy

For more information on Superlatives¸ see page 27.

Tip

È più bravo di tutti and è più brava di tutti are ways of saying He’s the best and She’s the best.

del, della, dei, delle and so on (di combined with the definite article) are used to mean some.

C’era della gente che aspettava.	There were some people waiting.
Vuoi dei biscotti?	Would you like some biscuits?

di is used with the infinitive (the –re form of the verb) when it is used as a noun.

Ho paura di volare.	I’m afraid of flying.
Non ho voglia di mangiare.	I don’t feel like eating.

3 da

da is used with places to mean from.

a tre chilometri da qui	three kilometres from here.
Viene da Roma.	He comes from Rome.

Use da to talk about getting, jumping or falling off something, or getting or falling out of something.

Isobel è scesa dal treno.	Isobel got off the train.
Il vaso è cascato dal terrazzo.	The plant pot fell off the balcony.
Il gatto è saltato dal muro.	The cat jumped off the wall.
È scesa dalla macchina.	She got out of the car.
Sono cascato dal letto.	I fell out of bed.

Note that da … a … means from … to …

da cima a fondo	from top to bottom
dalle otto alle dieci	from eight to ten

Use da with andare to say you’re going to a shop, or to someone’s house or workplace.

Vado dal giornalaio.	I’m going to the paper shop.
È andato dal dentista.	He’s gone to the dentist’s.
Andiamo da Gabriele?	Shall we go to Gabriele’s house?

Use da with essere to say you’re at a shop, or at someone’s house or workplace.

Laura è dal parucchiere.	Laura’s at the hairdresser’s.
Sono da Anna.	I’m at Anna’s house.

da is used to talk about how long something has been happening.

Use da with periods of time to mean for.

Vivo qui da un anno.

I’ve been living here for a year.

Use da with points in time to mean since.

da allora	since then
Ti aspetto dalle tre.	I’ve been waiting for you since three o’clock.

Note that the present tense is used in Italian to talk about what has been happening for a period, or since a certain time.

È a Londra da martedì.

He’s been in London since Tuesday.

For more information on the Present tense, see page 69.

da is used with passive verbs to mean by.

dipinto da un grande artista	painted by a great artist
I ladri sono stati catturati dalla polizia.	The thieves were caught by the police.

For more information on the Passive, see page 119.

da is used with the infinitive (the –re form of the verb) when you’re talking about things to do.

C’è molto da fare.	There’s lots to do.
È un film da vedere.	It’s a film that you’ve got to see.
Non c’è niente da mangiare.	There’s nothing to eat.
E, da bere?	And what would you like to drink?

In English you can say what something is used for by putting one noun in front of another, for example a racing car, an evening dress. In Italian change the word order and use da.

un nuovo paio di scarpe da corsa		a new pair of running shoes
Paolo non ha il costume da bagno.	Paolo hasn’t got his swimming trunks.

da is used when describing someone or something.

una ragazza dagli occhi azurri	a girl with blue eyes
un vestito da cento euro	a dress costing a hundred euros

da is used with nouns to mean as.

Da bambino avevo paura del buio.

As a child I was afraid of the dark.

4 in

Use in with essere to mean in when you are talking about where someone or something is – except in the case of towns.

Vive in Canada.	He lives in Canada.
È nel cassetto.	It’s in the drawer.

Note that in the case of towns you use a in Italian.

Abitano a Bologna.

They live in Bologna.

Tip

you don’t use in with adverbs such as qui (meaning here) and lì (meaning there).

qui dentro	in here
lì dentro	in there

Use in with andare to mean to when you’re talking about where someone or something is going to, except in the case of towns.

Andrò in Germania quest’estate.	I’m going to Germany this summer.
È andato in ufficio.	He’s gone to the office.

Note that in the case of towns you use a in Italian.

Sei mai stato a New york?

Have you ever been to New york?

Tip

essere in vacanza means to be on holiday, andare in vacanza means to go on holiday.

Use in to mean into when you’re talking about getting into something, or putting something into something.

Su, sali in macchina.	Come on, get into the car.
Come sono penetrati in banca?	How did they get into the bank?
L’ha gettato in acqua.	He threw it into the water.

Note that in is also used with verbs such as dividere (meaning to divide) and tagliare (meaning to cut).

L’ha tagliato in due.

She cut it into two.

For more information on Prepositions after verbs, see page 143.

Use in to mean in with years, seasons and months.

nel duemilasei	in two thousand and six
in estate	in summer
in ottobre	in October

Note that you can also use di with seasons (d’estate) and a with months (ad ottobre).

in is used with periods of time to mean in.

L’ha fatto in sei mesi.	He did it in six months.
Puoi finirlo in trenta minuti.	You can finish it in thirty minutes.

in is used with modes of transport to mean by.

Siamo andati in treno.	We went by train.
È meglio andare in bici.	It’s better to go by bike.

in is used to say how something is done.

Camminavano in silenzio.	They walked in silence.
È scritto in tedesco.	It’s written in German.

5 su

Use su to mean on.

Il tuo cellulare è sul pavimento.	Your mobile phone is on the floor.
Mettilo sulla sedia.	Put it on the chair.
È sulla sinistra.	It’s on the left.

Note that sul giornale means in the paper.

L’ho letto sul giornale.

I read it in the paper.

Tip

qui su and qua su mean up here. là combines with su to make one word with a double s: lassù (meaning up there).

Siamo qui su.	We’re up here.
Eccoli lassù.	They’re up there.

su is used with topics to mean about.

un libro sugli animali

a book about animals

su is used with numbers:

to talk about ratios

in tre casi su dieci	in three cases out of ten
due giorni su tre	two days out of three

with an article and a number to indicate an approximate amount

È costato sui cinquecento euro.	It cost around five hundred euros.
È sulla trentina.	She’s about thirty.

6 per

per often means for.

Questo è per te.	This is for you.
È troppo difficile per lui.	It’s too difficult for him.
L’ho comprato per trenta centesimi.	I bought it for thirty cents.
Ho guidato per trecento chilometri.	I drove for three hundred kilometres.

Note that when you are talking about how long you have been doing something you use da.

Aspetto da un pezzo.

I’ve been waiting for a while.

per is used with destinations.

il volo per Londra	the flight to London
il treno per Roma	the train to Rome

per is used with verbs of movement to mean through.

I ladri sono entrati per la finestra.	The burglars got in through the window.
Siamo passati per Birmingham.	We went through Birmingham.

per is used to indicate how something is transported or communicated.

per posta	by post
per via aerea	by airmail
per posta elettronica	by email
per ferrovia	by rail
per telefono	by or on the phone

Note that per is NOT used when referring to means of transport for people, in is used instead.

in macchina

by car

per is used to explain the reason for something.

L’ho fatto per aiutarti.	I did it to help you.
L’abbiamo fatto per ridere.	We did it for a laugh.
Ci sono andato per abitudine.	I went out of habit.
Non l’ho fatto per pigrizia.	I didn’t do it out of laziness.
È successo per errore.	It happened by mistake.

per is used in some very common phrases.

uno per uno	one by one
giorno per giorno	day by day
una per volta	one at a time
due per tre	two times three