Prepositions (a, di, da, in, su, con, per, tra/fra)

A preposition is the word that connects a noun or pronoun to the rest of the sentence. I’m going to the store. The book is on the table. I came with my friend.

Italian has eight basic prepositions: di, a, da, in, con, su, per, tra/fra. They look small but do enormous work, and they almost never line up one-to-one with English. A is sometimes to, sometimes at, sometimes in. Di is sometimes of, sometimes from, sometimes about. Da is sometimes from, sometimes by, sometimes at someone’s place.

The mismatch is the source of a thousand small errors that disappear with reading. Italian prepositions also fuse with definite articles into a table you have to memorise — the preposizioni articolate.

The eight basic prepositions

Di — of, from, about, made of

Use	Example	English
Possession	il libro di Marco	Marco’s book
Origin	sono di Roma	I’m from Rome
Topic	parliamo di politica	we’re talking about politics
Material	una tavola di legno	a wooden table
Quantity	un litro di acqua	a liter of water
Time	di notte, di giorno	at night, by day

A — to, at, in (specific points)

Use	Example	English
Destination	vado a Roma	I’m going to Rome
Specific location	sono a casa	I’m at home
Indirect object	parlo a Maria	I speak to Maria
Time	parte a mezzogiorno	it leaves at noon
Style/manner	gelato alla vaniglia	vanilla ice cream

Cities use a: a Roma, a Milano, a Parigi. Countries are split: most use in (in Italia, in Francia), while a few small or island countries use a (a Cuba, a Malta, a Cipro).

Da — from, by, at someone’s place

A particularly Italian preposition with multiple very different uses.

Use	Example	English
Origin/from	vengo da Roma	I come from Rome
At someone’s place	vado da Marco	I’m going to Marco’s
Agent (passive)	scritto da Dante	written by Dante
Purpose	uno spazzolino da denti	a toothbrush (for teeth)
Since/for time	da tre anni	for three years

The “at someone’s place” use is the equivalent of French chez: vado dal medico (I’m going to the doctor’s), abita da sua madre (he lives at his mother’s).

In — in (general locations, transport)

Use	Example	English
In a country, region	in Italia, in Toscana	in Italy, in Tuscany
In general locations	in ufficio, in classe, in banca	at the office, in class, at the bank
Means of transport	in macchina, in treno	by car, by train
Year, month, season	in estate, in marzo, in 2026	in summer, in March, in 2026
Manner	in silenzio, in fretta	silently, in a hurry

Con — with

Use	Example
Accompaniment	vengo con te
Means	scrivo con la penna
Manner	parla con calma

Su — on, about

Use	Example
On a surface	il libro su tavolo
About (topic, alternative)	un libro su la guerra
Approximation	su dieci persone

Per — for, through, in order to

Use	Example	English
Purpose	studio per imparare	I study to learn
Beneficiary	un regalo per te	a gift for you
Duration	ho viaggiato per un mese	I traveled for a month
Cause	grazie per l’aiuto	thanks for the help
Through	passo per Milano	I go through Milan

Per does not contract with the definite article. Per il libro, never peril.

Tra / Fra — between, among, in (time)

Tra and fra are interchangeable in meaning. Use whichever sounds better in context (avoid stacking similar consonants).

Use	Example	English
Between (two things)	tra Roma e Milano	between Rome and Milan
Among	fra gli amici	among friends
In (future time)	tra un’ora	in an hour

Preposizioni articolate (contractions)

When di, a, da, in, su meet the definite article, they fuse into single contracted forms. This is mandatory.

Prep	+ 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
con	con il	con lo	con la	con l’	con i	con gli	con le
per	per il	per lo	per la	per l’	per i	per gli	per le
tra/fra	(no contraction)

The contractions are not optional. Vado a la casa is wrong; it’s vado alla casa. La penna di il professore is wrong; it’s la penna del professore.

Con used to contract (col, coi) but modern Italian writes con il, con i in full. Per never contracts. Tra/fra never contract.

Verbs that take specific prepositions

A particular kind of vocabulary work: Italian verbs each have their own preposition habits, and you have to learn them with the verb.

Verb	Preposition	Example
parlare	di / a	parlo di te (I speak about you), parlo a te (I speak to you)
pensare	a / di	penso a te (I think about you), penso di andare (I’m thinking of going)
sognare	di	sogno di partire (I dream of leaving)
cercare	di (+ inf)	cerco di capire (I try to understand)
credere	a / in	credo a te (I believe you), credo in Dio (I believe in God)
dipendere	da	dipende da te (it depends on you)
avere bisogno	di	ho bisogno di te
essere innamorato	di	sono innamorato di lei

What you don’t need to do

You don’t need to learn all prepositions in a single sitting. Start with a, di, da, in, con. Add the others as you read.

You don’t need to translate prepositions one-to-one from English. Pensare a doesn’t mean think to. Parlare di doesn’t mean speak of in every context. Treat Italian prepositions as Italian ideas with their own logic.

You don’t need to memorise the preposizioni articolate table as a list. The contractions follow predictable rules (the preposition’s first consonant + the article’s vowel-and-consonant pattern). After a few weeks of reading, the contractions become automatic.

Common confusions

• A vs. in for countries. Cities use a: a Roma. Countries use in: in Italia. Most exceptions are small island countries (a Cuba, a Malta).
• A vs. da for people. Vado a Roma (location). Vado da Marco (to Marco’s place). The Italian da is the equivalent of French chez.
• Da has many uses. From, by, at someone’s, since, for, purpose. Read carefully for context.
• In + transport. In macchina, in treno, in aereo, in bicicletta. Transport mostly takes in. Exception: a piedi (on foot).
• Pensare a vs. pensare di. Penso a te (I’m thinking of you, fond). Penso di partire (I’m thinking about leaving, plan).
• Contractions are mandatory. Al cinema, not a il cinema. Nella casa, not in la casa. Don’t unforge them.

Where you’ll meet it in the library

Prepositions are in every sentence. The books that drill them most cleanly:

• Pinocchio (A1) — the spatial preposition workout. Pinocchio moves a, da, in, su, sotto, dentro, fuori constantly. Every chapter is a tour.
• Il Decameron (A2) — Boccaccio’s frame story sends ten Florentines da Firenze a Fiesole, dalla città al campo. The geography of escape is in the prepositions.