Prepositions – A1.2
Italian prepositions are small but essential words that connect nouns, pronouns, and phrases to the rest of a sentence. They indicate relationships of place, time, direction, and more. Many Italian prepositions also combine with definite articles to form articulated prepositions.
💡 Explain Like I'm 5
Prepositions are the little glue words that connect sentences (to, at, in, from). In Italian, when a preposition meets 'the', they morph together into one single word, like a contraction.
Simple Prepositions
Italian has nine simple (semplici) prepositions that you must know by heart:
| Preposition | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| di | of, from, about | Il libro di Marco (Marco's book) |
| a | to, at, in | Vado a casa (I go home) |
| da | from, by, since | Vengo da Roma (I come from Rome) |
| in | in, into, to | Vivo in Italia (I live in Italy) |
| con | with | Parlo con Maria (I speak with Maria) |
| su | on, upon, about | Il libro è su tavolo (The book is on the table) |
| per | for, through, in order to | Questo è per te (This is for you) |
| tra/fra | between, among, in (time) | Arrivo tra cinque minuti (I arrive in five minutes) |
Articulated Prepositions
When di, a, da, in, and su combine with a definite article, they form articulated prepositions (preposizioni articolate). Con, per, tra/fra usually do NOT combine.
| 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 |
When to Use Which Preposition
Place & Direction
- a — cities and small islands: Vado a Roma, Vado a Capri
- in — countries, regions, continents: Vivo in Italia, Vado in Europa
- da — someone's place: Vado da Marco (I go to Marco's place)
- su — on top of: Il gatto è sul tavolo (The cat is on the table)
Time
- a — specific times: a mezzogiorno (at noon), alle tre (at three)
- in — months, seasons, years: in gennaio (in January), in estate (in summer)
- da — since/from: Studio italiano da due anni (I've studied Italian for two years)
- tra/fra — in (future): Il treno parte tra dieci minuti (The train leaves in ten minutes)
Practice Makes Perfect!
Now that you know the theory, put your knowledge to the test with our interactive preposition trainer!
Start Preposition TrainerTips for Learning
Memorize the simple prepositions in order: di, a, da, in, con, su, per, tra/fra.
Learn the articulated preposition table row by row — start with 'di' since it's the most common.
Pay attention to verbs that require specific prepositions: pensare a (think about), parlare di (talk about).
Don't translate literally from English — Italian prepositions often don't match their English equivalents.