Simple Prepositions in Italian: di, a, da, in, con, su, per, tra/fra

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“Vado a Roma” but “vado in Italia”. “Vengo da Milano” but “parto per Milano”. Italian simple prepositions are tiny words, but they make the difference between a natural sentence and one that sounds “foreign”. They are one of the hardest points, because they rarely match your own language word for word. Here you will see what they are, how they differ from improper prepositions, the main uses of each one, the most frequent mistakes, and a short dialogue with exercises and answers. The classification follows the Treccani grammar (source at the end); the examples, exercises and advice are mine, from my teaching experience.

What a simple preposition is

According to the entry “Preposizioni” in Treccani’s grammar, prepositions are invariable parts of speech: they go before a noun, a pronoun, an adverb or an infinitive and specify its function in the sentence. The proper prepositions (also called simple) are a closed set of eight:

di – a – da – in – con – su – per – tra / fra

The same source explains that they only work as prepositions, have no stress of their own and can merge with the article: this fusion produces the articulated prepositions (del, alla, nel, sui…), which I cover in a separate article. For now, focus on the simple forms.

Main uses, preposition by preposition

DI

• possession and belonging: il libro di Anna (Anna’s book);
• origin: Sono di Lugano (I’m from Lugano);
• material: un tavolo di legno (a wooden table);
• topic: un film di avventura; parliamo di cibo (an adventure film; let’s talk about food).

A

• destination or place with cities: Vado a Roma. Abito a Zurigo;
• exact time: alle otto, a mezzanotte, a Natale;
• recipient: Scrivo a mia madre;
• manner: a piedi, a mano (on foot, by hand).

DA

• origin: Vengo da Milano;
• to someone’s home or place: Vado da Marco (to Marco’s), Vado dal dentista;
• duration up to now: Studio italiano da due anni (I’ve been studying Italian for two years);
• the person doing an action in a passive sentence: un romanzo scritto da Calvino;
• purpose: una tazza da tè (a teacup).

IN

• countries and regions: in Italia, in Svizzera, in Toscana;
• means of transport: in treno, in macchina, in aereo;
• indoor or institutional places: in ufficio, in banca, in classe;
• seasons and periods: in estate, in primavera, in settimana.

CON

• company: Esco con i miei amici;
• instrument: Taglio la carne con il coltello;
• manner: Rispondo con piacere.

SU

• position above: Il libro è su un tavolo;
• topic: un articolo su Dante;
• approximate quantity: Costa sui venti euro (it costs about twenty euros).

PER

• destination: Parto per Napoli; un treno per Milano;
• duration: Studio per due ore;
• purpose and recipient: un regalo per te; lo faccio per amore;
• cause: Sono stanco per il viaggio.

TRA / FRA

• position in between: Il parco è tra la scuola e la stazione;
• future time: Ci vediamo tra una settimana (see you in a week);
• within a group: tra amici.

Treccani puts the two forms on the same level (“tra o fra”): they mean the same thing. In practice people often pick the one that avoids repeating a sound, for instance fra tre settimane instead of tra tre settimane, but both are correct.

What about improper prepositions?

Improper prepositions are words that in other contexts have other functions (adverbs, adjectives, verbs) and form an open set. According to Treccani they have a stress of their own and do not form articulated prepositions. The examples the source gives are: davanti, dietro, dopo, fuori, lontano, lungo, mediante, prima, sopra, sotto. These are easier to grasp because they have an obvious spatial or temporal meaning: dopo cena, prima di partire, sotto il tavolo. Many are followed by a simple preposition: davanti a, lontano da, prima di. Treccani refers to separate pages for doubts such as “davanti or davanti a?”; here it is enough to remember that the typical use includes a preposition. Finally there are prepositional phrases, groups of words that work as one preposition.

Choosing the preposition: A or IN with places

Type of place	Preposition	Examples
cities, small towns, small islands	a	a Roma, a Lugano, a Capri
countries, regions, large islands	in	in Svizzera, in Toscana, in Sicilia
buildings and common places	in (often) or a	in banca, in ufficio, a scuola, a casa, al bar
a person	da	da Marco, dal medico, dalla nonna

With common places, usage is partly fixed and has to be learned with the whole expression: we say a scuola but in classe, a casa but in ufficio. It is better to learn these pairs as blocks, not as rules.

The most common slips

• Vado in Roma. → Vado a Roma. Use a with cities.
• Sono a Italia. → Sono in Italia. Use in with countries.
• Vado a Marco. → Vado da Marco. To “go to someone’s place” use da.
• Studio italiano per due anni. (if you are still studying) → Studio italiano da due anni. “Per” marks a finished period, “da” a situation that continues.
• Vado con treno. → Vado in treno. Use in with means of transport (but a piedi, a cavallo).
• Parlo con te di il lavoro. → Parlo con te del lavoro. Before the article the preposition merges with it (di + il = del): I cover this in the article on articulated prepositions.

Mini-dialogue: a weekend in Venice

Elena: Domani parto per Venezia. Vengo da Milano, quindi vado in treno.
Luca: Quanto tempo resti?
Elena: Resto per due giorni. Dormo da una mia amica, che abita vicino alla stazione.
Luca: Bello! Ci vediamo tra una settimana, quando torni?
Elena: Sì, ti porto un regalo con il vetro di Murano.

Translation: Tomorrow I’m leaving for Venice. I come from Milan, so I’m going by train. – How long are you staying? – For two days. I’m sleeping at a friend’s, who lives near the station. – Lovely! See you in a week, when you’re back? – Yes, I’ll bring you a gift made of Murano glass.

Exercises with answers

Exercise 1 – Fill in the simple preposition

1. Domani vado ______ Parigi.
2. Mia sorella abita ______ Francia.
3. Questo libro è ______ Marco.
4. Vengo ______ Napoli.
5. Vado ______ mia zia alle tre.
6. Esco ______ i miei amici.
7. Il gatto è ______ il divano e il tavolo.
8. Ci vediamo ______ due giorni.

Answers: 1. a; 2. in; 3. di; 4. da; 5. da; 6. con; 7. tra / fra; 8. tra / fra.

Exercise 2 – A, in or da?

1. Viaggio ______ treno.
2. Abito ______ Zurigo.
3. Questa sera ceno ______ mia nonna.
4. Studio ______ biblioteca.

Answers: 1. in; 2. a; 3. da; 4. in.

Exercise 3 – Per or da?

1. Lavoro qui ______ cinque anni (e lavoro ancora qui).
2. Ho lavorato in Spagna ______ un anno (e poi sono tornato).
3. Questo caffè è ______ te.

Answers: 1. da; 2. per; 3. per.

Questions to think about

• Which prepositions in your language correspond to a, in, da? In which cases do they not match?
• Can you explain in your own words the difference between “studio da due anni” and “studio per due anni”?
• Which pairs like “a scuola / in classe” have you already met?

Whole phrases beat rules

Do not study prepositions only through rules: learn the whole phrases you use every day, such as vado a casa, sono in ufficio, vengo da Lugano, parto per Milano. Listen to how speakers use them in real contexts, for example in the airport and station vocabulary, where “per”, “da” and “a” abound. If you have already met the Italian passive voice, you will notice that “da” introduces the person doing the action. And to build sentences about where things are, review c’è and ci sono.

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Sources

• Treccani – “Preposizioni”, in La grammatica italiana (2012)

The description of each preposition’s uses, the tables, the dialogue, the exercises and the advice come from my own teaching experience; the list of proper prepositions, the definition of improper ones and the examples cited come from the Treccani source.