Italian prepositions – simple overview

In Italian there are 8 prepositions: diada, inconsuper and tra/fra. In the lessons of our Italian course A1.1 we have learnt many prepositions. In this lesson you will find all prepositions summarized briefly and clearly to help you learn them better. This is a simple, but already quite comprehensive overview of the most important functions of prepositions, which can be particularly helpful for beginners.

Note that prepositions sometimes merge with articles. You can review how prepositions and articles merge in our lesson on articulated prepositions.

If you’re looking for a more complete overview of all prepositions, check out our overview of all prepositions.

The Italian prepositions

A = Place and time

The preposition A is very often used for place and time indications. If necessary, a should be combined with the definite article.

Where ? CitiesVado / Sono a RomaI go / am in Rom.
Where ? Some places*a casa, al ristorante, al bar, al marehome, restaurant, café
Andare + a + VerbVado a mangiareI go to eat
At what time? ALLE **alle setteat seven o’clock
Until when?A dopo! A domani! A giovedì!See you later! See you tomorrow! See you Thursday!
When? Months***A luglioIn July

*Whether a place has the preposition A or IN has to be learnt by heart. You can find an overview in our lesson Prepositions with Andare

**Exceptions: a mezzogiorno / mezzanotte, all’una. Review the topic in our lesson A che ora?

***Also possible with in: In luglio vado al mare

IN = Place

The preposition IN is very often used for places. IN is usually not combined with the article.

Where ? Countries, regionsin Italia, in ToscanaItaly, Tuscany
Where ? Places ending with -ia and -tecain pizzeria, in bibliotecapizzeria, library
Where ? House roomsin cucina, in soggiorno, in giardinokitchen, living room, garden
Where ? more places*in montagna, in cittàmountains, city
In, drinnen (+ Artikel)I vestiti sono nell’armadioThe clothes are in the closet

*Whether a place has the preposition A or IN has to be learnt by heart. You can find an overview in our lesson Prepositions with Andare

DI = of

The preposition DI usually corresponds to of and is often used as a preposition for possession or kinship. It is also used to describe things in more detail, e.g. il corso di italiano. It is also used for time indications to express regularity.

Possession, kinship il fratello di Fiona
l’auto di Emma
the brother of Fiona
Emma’s car
Detailed description il corso di italiano*
il libro di grammatica
the Italian course
the grammar book
Time (regularity)** di sera
di martedì
in the evening
tuesdays

*When di is followed by a vowel, di can be abbreviated to d’, but it is not obligatory: il corso d’italiano.

**Instead of di, one can also use the definite article: di sera = la sera. More in our lesson Talking about the time and date

DA = from

The preposition DA marks the origin and is used especially with verbs like uscire (to go out, to leave), venire (to come) and scendere (to get out). Also, you use DA when you go to a person or are at a person’s place.

Origin (from where?)una cartolina da Roma
scendo dal treno
esco dall’ufficio
vengo dalla
Germania*
a postcard from Rome
I get off the train
I leave the office.
I come from Germany
To go to person,
stay at a person’s place
vado dal dottore
dormo da un amico
I go to the doctor
I sleep at a friend’s

*You can say essere (DI) instead of venire (DA) to express your origin. But watch out that they have different prepositions and also constraints. More about this in our post Difference between sono di and vengo da.

DA - A = from - to

The combination DA – A denotes a period of time. Depending on what follows, you need to combine the prepositions with the articles.

Weekdays, one time: da – aVado a Venezia da venerdì a domenicaI go to Venice from Friday to Sunday
Weekdays, regularly: dal – alLavoro dal lunedì al venerdìI work from Monday to Friday
Schedule: dalle – alleHo lezione d’italiano dalle otto alle noveI have Italian lessons from eight to nine
Date: dal – alSono in vacanza dal 15 al 20 luglioI am on vacation from 15 to 20 July

The specified articles, as dalle – alle, must be adjusted if necessary. Clock times, for example, always have the article le, hence dalle / alle, though there are two exceptions: da / a mezzanotte, mezzogiorno (without article) and dall’ / all’ una. Review the topic in our lesson A che ora?

SU = on

The preposition SU basically means on. It is also used with the verb salire to say where you are getting on (with scendere you again use the preposition da, see above)

onIl gatto è sul tavoloThe cat is on the table
to get onSalgo sulla metroI get on the subway

CON = with

The preposition CON means with.

withVado in vacanza con la mia famigliaI am going on vacation with my family

PER = for

The preposition PER means for or in order to, moreover, always follows the verb partire.

for Per me un cappuccino For me a cappuccino
(in order) to Studio l’italiano per parlare con gli italiani I learn Italian to talk to Italians
partire per Parto per le vacanze / per l’Italia / per Roma I am leaving for vacation / to Italy / to Rome

TRA/FRA = between, in

The preposition TRA or FRA (exactly the same meaning) means between or in when we talk about the future.

It doesn’t matter whether you use fra or tra. But you can choose one or the other form to avoid little tongue twisters, for example fra tre giorni is better than tra tre giorni.

betweenIl divano è tra la libreria e la poltrona
The sofa is between the bookcase and the armchair
in (future)Parto tra una settimanaI leave in a week

Test sulle preposizioni!

More prepositions?

If you want to learn even more about prepositions, feel free to check out our complete overview of all prepositions and the overview of prepositions with andare, where you can also find handy downloadable materials.

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