Italian prepositions: how to choose the right one

Nouns are easy. Dog is cane, book is libro, and you can keep a list and trust it. Prepositions do not work like that. To becomes a most of the time (Vado a Roma, I’m going to Rome), and then the same to becomes in (Vado in Francia, I’m going to France), and to the doctor’s becomes dal dottore without an English preposition in sight. One English preposition turns into several Italian ones, and sometimes into nothing at all.

You cannot build a one-to-one list for them. What works is learning two or three examples at a time, inside sentences you would really say, and letting the pattern settle with practice. Slowly, in context, with a bit of patience. Our students say it better than I can: in the questionnaire we send them, prepositions come first, before verbs and pronouns. One answer calls them “il problema numero uno”. If that is your problem too, you are in good company.

In this article I show you the eight prepositions and what each one does, how they join with the article (le preposizioni articolate), which preposition andare needs depending on where you are going, and the verbs that carry a preposition of their own, the ones you have to learn together with the word. At the end there is the list of mistakes my students make most often, in their own words.

The eight prepositions (Le preposizioni semplici)

Italian has eight simple prepositions: di, a, da, in, con, su, per, and tra. Tra and fra are the same word, and you pick the one that sounds better next to what follows: tra fratelli repeats the sound, so we say fra fratelli.

Four of them, di, a, da and in, do most of the work in a normal conversation, and they are the four that overlap most with English. Here they are with their usual meanings, and I will take them one by one after the tables:

Preposition	Usually means	Example
di	of, from, about	Il libro è di Marco. (It’s Marco’s book)
a	to, at, in	Vado a Napoli. (I’m going to Naples)
da	from, at someone’s place, since	Vengo da Napoli. (I come from Naples)
in	in, to, by	Vivo in Italia. (I live in Italy)
con	with	Esco con Marta. (I’m going out with Marta)
su	on, about	Il libro è sul tavolo. (The book is on the table)
per	for, through, in order to	Questo è per te. (This is for you)
tra / fra	between, among, in (future time)	Arrivo tra dieci minuti. (I’ll be there in ten minutes)

These eight are not eight separate problems to memorize. When you learn a new verb or a new expression, learn it with its preposition, as one piece (pensare a, finire di, dipendere da), and one day the piece arrives on its own, the way it happens for my students.

Prepositions with the article (Le preposizioni articolate)

When one of these prepositions meets a definite article, the two become one word. This is not optional, the way I’m is optional in English: in Italian you write al, not a il. Here is the whole table, and it is worth keeping next to you for the first months:

	+ 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

Two small notes. Con normally stays as it is (con il), because the old col and coi sound dated today. Per, tra and fra never join the article.

And a handful of places are said without the article, as fixed expressions: a casa, a scuola, a letto, in ufficio, in stazione. So you hear Ci vediamo in stazione. (See you at the station) rather than nella stazione, which sounds like the building itself. You will meet these set phrases again in the next section, because they are most of what you say with andare.

Going somewhere: a, in or da?

This is the question my students ask most, so here it is with the answer in three lines:

Where you are going	Preposition	Examples
a city, a small island, the compass points, or a verb	a	Vado a Roma., Vado a Malta., Vado a sud., Vado a dormire.
a country, a region, a big island, a shop in -ia or -teca, a room of the house	in	Vado in Francia., Vado in Toscana., Vado in Sicilia., Vado in pizzeria., Vado in biblioteca., Vado in cucina.
a person, or a place that belongs to a person	da	Vado da Marco., Vado dal dottore., Vado dal parrucchiere.

That da line is the one English never prepares you for. At the doctor’s, at Anna’s, to the hairdresser are all people in Italian, and people take da: Stasera ceno da Anna. (Tonight I’m having dinner at Anna’s), Sono dal dentista. (I’m at the dentist’s), Vieni da me? (Are you coming to my place?).

Then come the phrases you simply meet in daily life and store as pictures. They do not always follow the logic above, and this is exactly where a list is useful, as reference:

a	a casa, a scuola, a letto, a lezione, a teatro, a tavola
al / allo / all’	al mare, al lavoro, al ristorante, al bar, al cinema, al mercato, al parco, all’università, all’ospedale, allo stadio
in	in vacanza, in centro, in montagna, in campagna, in banca, in ufficio, in palestra, in chiesa
alla	alla stazione, alla fermata, alla posta, alla festa

Read the left column again and you will notice the shape of the problem: al mare but in montagna, in banca but alla posta. There is no rule that covers all of them, which is why I tell my students to learn them as small pictures rather than as a rule. A few weeks of saying the phrases out loud and in montagna arrives by itself, together with al mare and al cinema.

di (of, from, about)

Di is the preposition of what something is and where it belongs from.

• possession: La borsa di Maria. (Maria’s bag), Questo libro è di Luca. (This book is Luca’s)
• material: un tavolo di legno (a wooden table), una sciarpa di lana (a wool scarf)
• origin with the verb essere: Sono di Torino. (I’m from Turin), Questo vino è della Toscana. (This wine is from Tuscany)
• topic: Parliamo di lavoro. (Let’s talk about work), un film di guerra (a war film)
• quantity and containers, with no article: un bicchiere di vino (a glass of wine), tre chili di mele (three kilos of apples), un po’ di tempo (a bit of time)
• “some”, the use nobody expects: Vuoi del caffè? (Do you want some coffee?), Compro delle mele. (I’m buying some apples). Del, della, dei, delle are also how Italian says an unspecified quantity, so that little word answers two different questions
• comparison: È più alto di me. (He’s taller than me), Il Po è più lungo dell’Adige. (The Po is longer than the Adige)
• days and parts of the day, for habits: di lunedì (on Mondays), di domenica (on Sundays), di sera (in the evening), di giorno (during the day)

That first one, sono di Torino against vengo da Torino, is a question I get in every class, so here is the difference in one line: essere tells people where you are from, permanently, and takes di; venire describes the movement from there to here, and takes da. Sono di Roma, ma vivo a Milano. (I’m from Rome, but I live in Milan).

a (to, at, in)

• cities: Abito a Bologna. (I live in Bologna), Vado a Milano domani. (I’m going to Milan tomorrow)
• places and set phrases: Sono a casa. (I’m at home), Vado al parco. (I’m going to the park), Ci vediamo alla stazione. (See you at the station)
• the time on the clock, and the calendar: Ci vediamo alle otto. (See you at eight), Mangio a mezzogiorno. (I eat at noon), A Natale resto a casa. (At Christmas I’m staying home)
• distance, and here the starting point takes da: A duecento metri dalla stazione. (Two hundred meters from the station), A dieci minuti da casa mia. (Ten minutes from my place)
• the person who receives something: Telefono a mia madre. (I call my mother), Do il libro a Luca. (I give the book to Luca)
• the compass points: La stazione è a destra. (The station is on the right), Vado a sud. (I’m going south)
• how often, and in what style: Due volte alla settimana. (Twice a week), gelato alla fragola (strawberry ice cream)
• before an action, after a movement verb: Vado a fare la spesa. (I’m going shopping), Vieni a mangiare da noi? (Are you coming to eat at our place?)

da (from, at someone’s place, since)

Da is the preposition English speakers never expect, because it does four jobs with one word.

• origin, with a movement verb: Vengo da Milano. (I come from Milan), Parto da casa alle sette. (I leave home at seven)
• at someone’s place, or your own: Ceno da Anna. (I’m having dinner at Anna’s), Sono dal dottore. (I’m at the doctor’s), Vieni da me? (Are you coming to my place?), Da noi piove sempre. (It always rains where we are)
• how long something has been going on, with the present tense: Studio italiano da un anno. (I’ve been studying Italian for a year), Aspetto da dieci minuti. (I’ve been waiting for ten minutes), Lavoro dalle nove alle cinque. (I work from nine to five)
• purpose: occhiali da sole (sunglasses), scarpe da ginnastica (sneakers), camera da letto (bedroom)
• who did something, in the passive: un romanzo scritto da Calvino (a novel written by Calvino)

The duration use is the one to hold on to: da with the present tense says for or since, and Italian stays in the present while English moves to the perfect. Vivo qui da cinque anni. (I’ve been living here for five years).

in (in, to, by)

• countries, regions, continents, big islands: Vivo in Italia. (I live in Italy), In Toscana piove sempre. (In Tuscany it always rains), Andiamo in Sicilia. (We’re going to Sicily)
• buildings and institutions you go inside: Sono in banca. (I’m at the bank), Vado in palestra. (I’m going to the gym), Lavoro in ufficio. (I work in an office)
• how you travel: Vado in treno. (I’m going by train), Andiamo in macchina. (We’re going by car), Torno in aereo. (I’m coming back by plane). With the car you will also hear andiamo con la macchina, and both are correct: in names the vehicle, con names the means you are using. A piedi, on foot, and a cavallo, on horseback, are the two exceptions
• seasons, months and durations: In estate fa caldo. (It’s hot in summer), In gennaio siamo in Italia. (In January we’re in Italy), Ho finito il libro in due ore. (I finished the book in two hours), nel 2024 (in 2024)

con, su, per, tra / fra

con is with: company (Esco con Marta., I’m going out with Marta), the means (Pago con la carta., I’m paying by card), and what something comes with (Un tè con il limone., a tea with lemon · le scarpe con i tacchi alti, high-heeled shoes).

su is on, and also about: Il telecomando è sul divano. (The remote is on the sofa), Cerco informazioni su Internet. (I look for information online), Una guida sulla Toscana. (A guide about Tuscany).

per is for, through, and in order to: Questo regalo è per te. (This present is for you), Passo per Bologna. (I’m going through Bologna), Sono qui per studiare. (I’m here to study), Resto in Italia per tre settimane. (I’m staying in Italy for three weeks). It is also the preposition inside a family of expressions you hear a hundred times a day: per favore, per fortuna, per esempio (please, luckily, for example).

tra and fra are between and among, and in for a future moment: La banca è tra la farmacia e il bar. (The bank is between the pharmacy and the bar), Arrivo tra dieci minuti. (I’ll be there in ten minutes), Fra le due e le due e mezza. (Between two and half past two).

The other prepositions you will meet

The eight simple ones are not the last ones you will hear, and these come up early. Seven of them behave like prepositions even when a grammar book files them among the adverbs:

dietro	behind: Dietro la casa c’è un giardino. (Behind the house there’s a garden)
davanti a	in front of: Davanti al bar c’è una fontana. (In front of the bar there’s a fountain)
dopo	after: Torno dopo le sette. (I’ll be back after seven)
durante	during: Non parlo durante la lezione. (I don’t talk during the lesson)
senza	without: Un caffè senza zucchero. (A coffee without sugar)
sopra / sotto	above / under: Il gatto è sopra il divano. (The cat is on the sofa) · Le chiavi sono sotto il tavolo. (The keys are under the table)
verso	towards, or around a time: Vengo verso le otto. (I’ll come around eight)

And a second group, where two or three words work as one preposition and the last one is always a or di:

vicino a	Abito vicino alla stazione. (I live near the station)
accanto a	Il bar è accanto alla posta. (The bar is next to the post office)
di fronte a	Abito di fronte al parco. (I live opposite the park)
in mezzo a	La fontana è in mezzo alla piazza. (The fountain is in the middle of the square)
insieme a	Esco insieme a mia sorella. (I’m going out with my sister)
prima di	Prima di cena faccio una passeggiata. (Before dinner I go for a walk)
fino a	Lavoro fino alle sei. (I work until six)
oltre a	Oltre al caffè, vorrei un bicchiere d’acqua. (Besides the coffee, I’d like a glass of water)

Here is where the “on” confusion in my classes comes from: su, sulla and sopra can all answer “on” in English. Sul tavolo and sulla sedia are the preposition with its article; sopra says where something is in relation to something else. Three words, one English preposition, and that is why the dictionary and one example sentence are worth more than a rule here.

Prepositions of place and time

Two small tables, because place and time are where most of these choices actually happen.

Place	Example	Time	Example
a	a Roma, a casa, a scuola	a	alle otto, a mezzogiorno
in	in Italia, in banca, in centro	di	di sera, di lunedì
da	da Marco, dal dottore	in	in estate, in due ore, nel 2024
su	sul tavolo, sul muro	da	da un anno, da lunedì
tra / fra	tra il bar e la banca	per	per due settimane, per tre giorni
		tra / fra	tra un’ora, fra due settimane

One contrast worth keeping in your pocket, because English uses in for both: Ho finito il lavoro in due ore. (I finished the work in two hours, that is how long it took) against Arrivo tra due ore. (I’ll arrive in two hours, that is when I’ll be there).

Which preposition for this English word?

The English word in your head on the left, the Italian answer on the right. It is a reference table, not a rule, but it answers most of the sentences you will need today.

You want to say	Italian	Watch out
in / to, with a city	a	countries and regions take in
in / to, with a country or a region	in	cities take a: a Roma, in Italia
at someone’s place, at a shop that belongs to a person	da	dal dottore, da Anna, dal parrucchiere
in / at a shop, a school, an office	in or a	in banca, in ufficio, al bar, alla posta
of, belonging to	di	il libro di Marco
from, where you come from	di with essere, da with a movement verb	Sono di Roma / Vengo da Roma
since, for, with time still going on	da	da un anno, da lunedì
for, with a length of time that ends	per	per due settimane
in, with how long something takes	in	in two hours from now is tra due ore
by car, by train, on foot	in, and a for walking	in macchina, in treno, a piedi. Never in piedi, which means standing up
about	di or su	parlo di te, un libro su Roma
between, among	tra / fra	same word, chosen by sound

Verbs that come with their own preposition (Verbi e preposizioni)

Now the part nobody can skip, and the part the questionnaire asks about more than any other: verbs that need a specific preposition before another verb, or before a noun. English does not prepare you for these, because English often puts nothing there at all (“I start working”, “I stop smoking”) or puts something different.

Four things to know, then you practice them one at a time.

Verbs of beginning, continuing, trying and managing take a: cominciare a, iniziare a, continuare a, mettersi a, provare a, riuscire a, imparare a, insegnare a, aiutare a. Ho cominciato a studiare italiano a settembre. (I started studying Italian in September), Provo a parlare ogni giorno. (I try to speak every day), Sono riuscita a finire il libro. (I managed to finish the book). The movement verbs belong here too: andare a, venire a, tornare a.

Verbs of finishing, deciding, remembering and hoping take di: finire di, smettere di, decidere di, dimenticare di, ricordarsi di, pensare di, sperare di, credere di, avere paura di, avere bisogno di, avere voglia di. Ho finito di lavorare. (I’ve finished working), Devo smettere di fumare. (I have to stop smoking), Ho deciso di restare. (I decided to stay), Ho paura di sbagliare. (I’m afraid of making a mistake).

Modal verbs take nothing: volere, potere, dovere, sapere, preferire, desiderare go straight to the infinitive. Voglio imparare. (I want to learn), Preferisco camminare. (I prefer walking). This is why Voglio andare a Roma. has no preposition before andare.

With a noun, the preposition belongs to the verb, not to the English word: fidarsi di (to trust), innamorarsi di, pensare a (to have someone on your mind), credere a (to believe a person, to believe in an idea), dipendere da, uscire da, telefonare a, chiedere a, rispondere a, essere bravo a, essere contento di, essere orgoglioso di. Two traps in that list: pensare a means thinking about someone, while pensare di introduces what you intend to do (Penso di partire sabato., I’m thinking of leaving on Saturday); and credere a is believing a person or an idea, while credere in is believing in something you have faith in.

Some of these look almost identical in English and keep two different prepositions in Italian, and the reverse happens too. So when a verb is new, look it up and copy the construction with it. I send my students to Internazionale’s dictionary for exactly this reason: the examples are short and they show the preposition in a real sentence, as in dipendere + da (dipende da te).

The mistakes my students actually make

Here they are with the fix beside each one, most of them in the exact words my students used.

• “When going to the park it’s al parco, but when going to the doctor it’s dal dottore. Perché?” Because the doctor is a person. Places take a or in, people take da.
• “Why ‘Sono di NYC’ but ‘Vengo da NYC’?” Essere says where you belong, for good, and takes di; venire describes a movement and takes da.
• “‘Provo a imparare’ ma ‘cerco di imparare’.” Both mean I try to learn: provare takes a, cercare takes di. Two different verbs, two different pieces to learn.
• “I have trouble with prepositions and I feel like I need to throw in a ‘da’ or ‘per’ everywhere.” Then stop guessing and check the verb once. Five seconds with the dictionary gives you the preposition that belongs to it, and you keep it.
• “Prendo un treno a lavoro, and was told to use ‘per lavoro’.” Both exist, and they answer different questions: Vado al lavoro in treno. (I go to work by train) is the place, Sono a Milano per lavoro. (I’m in Milan for work) is the reason.
• “Why don’t we use the article with di? Un piatto di pasta. Why isn’t it della pasta?” Because the noun is generic material, not a specific one. Il sapore della pasta che hai cucinato ieri (the taste of the pasta you cooked yesterday) does take the article, and now you can hear the difference: one is a plate of pasta, the other is that pasta.
• “Do I say mi alzo da letto or mi alzo dal letto?” With alzarsi you use the article: Mi alzo dal letto alle sette. (I get out of bed at seven). Without the article you have andare a letto and essere a letto, which are set phrases: Vado a letto presto. (I go to bed early).
• “What prepositions do you use before sera, notte, pomeriggio: di, a, alla?” The usual ones are di and la: di sera, di notte, la mattina, di pomeriggio.
• And two small ones that catch almost everybody. On foot is a piedi, not in piedi, which means standing up. And I’ll be there in two hours is Arrivo tra due ore, not arrivo in due ore, which describes how long the journey takes.
• “I need help with selecting the right prepositions and with words such as su, sulla, sopra all mean on.” Three words, three jobs: su is the preposition, sulla is su plus the article (sulla sedia, on the chair), and sopra is the word for a position above something (sopra il letto, above the bed). The table above puts them side by side.

How to practice

Prepositions are not learned in a weekend, and they are not learned from a list either. Take two or three examples a lesson and live with them for a week: vado al lavoro, vado dal dentista, vengo dalla palestra. Next week, two more. Attach the place phrases to a scene when you can, because al mare in July and in montagna in winter stay better than a rule does.

When a new verb arrives, write it down together with its preposition, as if it were one word, the way you would write a new noun with its article: cominciare a, finire di, fidarsi di, dipendere da. Then check instead of guessing. One look in the dictionary fixes that verb for years, while a guess at da or per costs the same five seconds and teaches nothing.

And take the sentences you already say, correct the preposition in ten of them, and repeat them out loud twice. Errors come back through the mouth, not through the eyes.

Patience is part of the method here. Prepositions are the last thing that becomes automatic in a language, and the day you notice you said dal dottore without thinking about it, you will have crossed the line.

Try it yourself

You have the eight prepositions, their articles and the verbs that carry their own. Here are six sentences to test them on. Pick a preposition and you get the reason either way.

Want a Hand?

If you are not sure about the preposition in a sentence you use every day, write it to me: send us two or three sentences and a teacher will tell you which preposition to change and why, so you hear the reason instead of learning a list. That is what our students ask for most, and it is what a lesson with a native teacher does best. Book a free trial lesson and bring your sentences.