In Italian there are 8 prepositions: di, a, da, in, con, su, per 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 ? Cities | Vado / Sono a Roma | I go / am in Rom. |
Where ? Some places* | a casa, al ristorante, al bar, al mare | home, restaurant, café |
Andare + a + Verb | Vado a mangiare | I go to eat |
At what time? ALLE ** | alle sette | at seven o’clock |
Until when? | A dopo! A domani! A giovedì! | See you later! See you tomorrow! See you Thursday! |
When? Months*** | A luglio | In 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, regions | in Italia, in Toscana | Italy, Tuscany |
Where ? Places ending with -ia and -teca | in pizzeria, in biblioteca | pizzeria, library |
Where ? House rooms | in cucina, in soggiorno, in giardino | kitchen, living room, garden |
Where ? more places* | in montagna, in città | mountains, city |
In, drinnen (+ Artikel) | I vestiti sono nell’armadio | The 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 – a | Vado a Venezia da venerdì a domenica | I go to Venice from Friday to Sunday |
Weekdays, regularly: dal – al | Lavoro dal lunedì al venerdì | I work from Monday to Friday |
Schedule: dalle – alle | Ho lezione d’italiano dalle otto alle nove | I have Italian lessons from eight to nine |
Date: dal – al | Sono in vacanza dal 15 al 20 luglio | I 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)
on | Il gatto è sul tavolo | The cat is on the table |
to get on | Salgo sulla metro | I get on the subway |
CON = with
The preposition CON means with.
with | Vado in vacanza con la mia famiglia | I 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.
between | Il divano è tra la libreria e la poltrona | The sofa is between the bookcase and the armchair |
in (future) | Parto tra una settimana | I 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.
Overview Prepositions with ANDARE
Vado in banca, in piscina, alla stazione, al mare,… Preposizioni con andare
Overview all PREPOSIZIONI italiane
All prepositions: Di, a, da, in, con, su, per, tra, fra.