The lesson
Prepositions rarely match English, so they’re where learners lose the most marks. You know the basics from A1: a Roma, in Italia, da Marco. This lesson puts them to work for real journeys and real timelines.
In one way Italian is simpler than English: the same preposition works for going somewhere and for being there. The harder part is time. For three years can be da or per, depending on whether it’s still going on, and in ten minutes is usually tra, not in.
Going and being: one word
English says I’m going to Rome but I live in Rome. Italian uses one preposition for both: a with cities and towns (vado a Roma, abito a Roma), in with countries, regions and big islands (vado in Spagna, abito in Toscana, in vacanza in Sicilia).
Small islands behave like towns: a Capri. A country with an article in its name takes the joined form: negli Stati Uniti.
Shops, rooms and everyday places
Shops whose name ends in -ia take a bare in: in farmacia, in panetteria, in libreria, in pizzeria. So do rooms (in cucina, in camera, in bagno) and many everyday places: in banca, in ufficio, in centro, in piazza, in palestra.
Other places take a + the article; just learn them: al bar, al ristorante, al supermercato, al cinema, al mare, alla stazione, all’aeroporto. Casa and scuola take a bare a. As always, the article comes back when you say which one: nella farmacia di piazza Dante.
| in (no article) | a + article |
|---|---|
| in farmacia | al bar |
| in banca | al supermercato |
| in ufficio | al cinema |
| in cucina | alla stazione |
A shop ending in -ia? Almost always in: in gelateria, in macelleria, in tabaccheria.
Going to see someone: da
When the place is a person, use da: vado da Marco (to Marco’s), sono da Marco (at Marco’s). Like a and in, it works for going and for being there.
Professionals are people too: dal medico, dal dentista, dal parrucchiere, dal meccanico. With an article, da joins it: dal, dalla, dai. With mia, tua, sua + one family member there’s no article, so it’s plain da: da mia zia, but dai miei nonni.
So the same errand has two forms: in farmacia (the shop) or dal farmacista (the person); in macelleria or dal macellaio.
Transport: in treno, a piedi
With a means of transport, Italian uses a bare in where English says by: in treno, in macchina, in autobus, in aereo, in bici, in metro, in taxi.
The one to watch is a piedi (on foot). In piedi means standing up. To name one particular train or bus, use con + the article: con il treno delle otto.
How long: da or per?
For something that started in the past and is still going on, Italian uses the present + da: Abito qui da tre anni (I’ve lived here for three years, and still do). English needs have been; Italian doesn’t. Da also takes a starting point: da settembre, da lunedì, dal 2019. The question is Da quanto tempo…?
Per + a length of time is a stretch with an end: a trip, a plan, a routine. Resto a Roma per una settimana. Ogni sera studio per un’ora. When you meet the past tense, per will describe finished stretches: Ho abitato a Londra per due anni (I lived there, then left).
| still going on: da | a set stretch: per |
|---|---|
| Abito qui da un anno. | Resto qui per un anno. |
| Studio da due ore. | Studio per due ore ogni sera. |
Ask yourself: is it still true today? Then it’s da.
Ago and from now: fa, tra
Fa means ago and, like ago, comes after the time: tre giorni fa, un anno fa, poco fa (a moment ago). It usually goes with a past tense, your next topic: Sono arrivato tre giorni fa.
Tra or fra + a time means from now: Parto tra una settimana. Torno fra dieci minuti. They mean the same. Some people pick the one that sounds better, like fra tre giorni to avoid tra tre, but both are correct.
Watch the English in. In ten minutes (from now) is tra dieci minuti. Italian in dieci minuti means taking ten minutes: Faccio la doccia in dieci minuti.
Clock times and deadlines
At a time is alle: alle otto, all’una, a mezzogiorno. For a range, both ends keep the article and join it: dalle nove alle cinque, dall’una alle tre. Days work the same way: dal lunedì al venerdì.
Entro sets a deadline: by or within. Entro venerdì (by Friday), entro le cinque (by five), entro un mese (within a month). Unlike a and da, entro never joins the article. Compare Rispondo tra un’ora (an hour from now) with Rispondo entro un’ora (any time in the next hour).
Common mistakes
- Abito qui per tre anni.Abito qui da tre anni.Still going on? Present + da.
- Vado in piedi.Vado a piedi.On foot is a piedi; in piedi means standing.
- Vado a Marco.Vado da Marco.Going to a person’s place is da.
- Vado a Sicilia.Vado in Sicilia.Big islands work like regions: in.
- fa tre giornitre giorni faFa comes after the time, like ago.
- Parto in una settimana.Parto tra una settimana.From now is tra or fra; in is how long something takes.
- dalle nove a cinquedalle nove alle cinqueBoth ends of a time range keep the article: dalle… alle.
Place and time at a glance
One word for going and being; da, per, fa, tra and entro for time.
| city · small island | a Roma · a Capri |
| country · region · big island | in Italia · in Toscana · in Sicilia |
| -ia shop · room | in farmacia · in cucina · in ufficio |
| a person | da Marco · dal medico · dai nonni |
| transport | in treno · in macchina · a piedi |
| still going on | abito qui da tre anni |
| a set stretch | resto per una settimana |
| ago · from now | tre giorni fa · tra tre giorni |
| clock | alle otto · dalle nove alle cinque |
| deadline | entro venerdì |
In farmacia (the shop), but dal farmacista (the person).
A piedi is on foot; in piedi means standing.
Tra dieci minuti is when; in dieci minuti is how long something takes.
In short
- One word for going and being: a + city or small island; in + country, region, big island, -ia shop or room; da + a person (dal medico, da mia zia).
- Transport: in treno, in macchina, but a piedi.
- Still going on: present + da (abito qui da tre anni). A stretch with an end: per (resto per una settimana).
- Fa looks back (tre giorni fa), tra/fra looks forward (tra tre giorni), entro sets a deadline (entro venerdì). Clock: alle otto, dalle nove alle cinque.