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Grammar, spelling, and usage

Italian Simple Prepositions
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Preposizioni Semplici
di (d’)of, from
aat, to, in
dafrom, by
inin
conwith
suon
perfor
tra, frabetween

Examples:

Vive a Roma. (She lives in Rome.)
L’aereo arriva da Londra. (The airplane arrives from London.)
Abita in California. (He lives in California.)
Parlo con Andrea. (I’m talking with Andrea.)
I libri sono su un banco. (The books are on a desk.)
La penna è tra i quaderni. (The pen is between the notebooks.)
La chiamata è per Teresa. (The call is for Teresa.)

The preposition di expresses possession as well as place of origin:

Di chi è questa rivista?—È di Lucia.
Whose magazine is this?—It’s Lucia’s.

Di dov’è James?—È di Miami.
Where is James from?— He’s from Miami.

The English to and in are translated by the Italian preposition a when used with the name of a city or a small island.

Vado a Venezia. (I am going to Venice.)
Abitano a Venezia. (They live in Venice.)
Vanno a Capri. (They are going to Capri.)
Abitano a Ischia. (They live in Ischia.)


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