Prepositions: basic uses

Italian and English prepositions do not correspond one to one. Learn phrases: a Roma, in Italia. This lesson covers basic meanings; fixed expressions need further practice.

Di: possession or origin — il libro di Anna, sono di Roma.
A: cities and certain fixed places — a Roma, a casa.
In: countries and various places — in Italia, in banca.
Da: a starting point or someone’s place — da Roma, da Marco.

Con means with someone or using something; su means on a surface or about a topic; per can mean for, through or for a period of time. Tra and fra are usually interchangeable: between or among, and in when referring to a future time.

Di, a, da, in and su combine with the definite article:
di + il = del; a + il = al; da + il = dal; in + il = nel; su + il = sul.
With la: della, alla, dalla, nella, sulla.
With lo/l’/i/gli/le: dello/dell’/dei/degli/delle; allo/all’/ai/agli/alle; dallo/dall’/dai/dagli/dalle; nello/nell’/nei/negli/nelle; sullo/sull’/sui/sugli/sulle.
Per, tra and fra remain separate. With con, use con il or con la as the basic pattern; col and coi also exist.

Learn combinations: a Roma, in Italia, da Marco, per te, tra due giorni. Five prepositions regularly combine with the article: di, a, da, in, su.