9. Prepositions
Prepositions precede other words and indicate relationships between these words.
The following three prepositions cannot be inflected: per, tra and fra.
The prepositions di, a, da, in, con and su can be inflected and combined with the definite article:
di + il ⇒ del di + i ⇒ dei
di + lo ⇒ dello di + gli ⇒ degli
di + la ⇒ della di + le ⇒ delle
| Preposition | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| DI | Indicates a relationship between two things. | Questa è la macchina di mia sorella. This is my sister’s car. |
| A | Indicates direction and also refers to whom something is. | Dai le chiavi a Davide. Give the keys to Davide. |
| DA | Indicates origin, difference or distance. | La scuola è lontana da casa mia. The school is far from my house. |
| IN | Refers to something being situated in time and place. | Quest’estate vado in Italia. I am going to Italy this summer. |
| CON | Refers to the idea with, as well as to the way or means of doing something. | Vado in vacanza con la mia mamma. I am going on holiday with my mum. |
| SU | Refers to the idea on, as well as to an estimate (about, approximately). | Il vaso è sul tavolo. The vase is on the table. |
| PER | Refers to the ideas by some means, via and indicates direction, aim or cause. | Il treno passa per Milano. The train passes through Milan. |
| TRA/FRA | The choice between these two is based on which of the two fits better with the surrounding sounds. They refer to the ideas between, among and in. | Carla arriverà fra due ore. Carla will arrive in two hours. |