If you’ve been learning Italian for a while, you’ve probably hesitated more than once over which preposition to use — whether to express how long you’ve been doing something, who you’re speaking to, or where you’re going. Don’t worry: this kind of hesitation is completely normal, and it happens to even the most motivated English speakers. Italian simple prepositions — di, a, da, in, con, su, per, tra/fra — are tiny little words, but they carry a huge responsibility: they connect the elements of a sentence and specify time, place, manner, cause…

The good news is that these prepositions follow fairly clear logics, once you’ve identified them properly. In this article, we’ll go through them one by one, with simple, concrete examples, so you can finally use them with confidence.

1. Why do Italian prepositions trip up English speakers?

English does use prepositions too, of course, but their usage doesn’t always match Italian’s. Some translate almost word for word, which is reassuring; others follow a logic that’s specific to Italian, with no direct equivalent in English, which can lead to mistakes, especially when speaking, when you don’t have time to stop and think.

It’s precisely because the logics don’t always overlap between the two languages that prepositions require dedicated learning, preposition by preposition, use by use. Throughout this article, we’ll point out the most common pitfalls for English speakers.

Let’s go through them together.

2. DI: origin, belonging

DI is mainly used to express origin, when asking where someone is from.

– Di dove sei?

This preposition is also used for specification or belonging, similar to “of” in English.

– Questo è l’ufficio di Mike.

3. A: place, time, recipient

A is one of the most frequent prepositions in everyday Italian. It first expresses being in a place, i.e. where someone is located.

– Sono a scuola.

It’s also used to indicate time, to specify a precise hour.

– A mezzogiorno

Finally, this preposition introduces the recipient, when indicating who someone is speaking, writing, or phoning.

– Telefono a Giorgio.

Notice that in English, verbs like “to call” don’t take a preposition at all (“I call Giorgio”), while Italian needs a to introduce the person being addressed. Keep this in mind whenever you’re tempted to drop the preposition.

4. DA: origin, movement towards someone, duration

DA is probably the preposition that surprises English speakers the most, since it covers very different uses. It first expresses origin, the starting point.

– Vengo da Buenos Aires.

This preposition also expresses movement towards the place where someone is, which corresponds to going to see someone.

– Vado da Alessandro.

Finally, it’s used to indicate duration, to express how long an action has been going on.

– Da molto tempo

Key point to remember: vado da Alessandro literally means vado a casa di Alessandro (I’m going to Alessandro’s house). English does have a natural way to express this — “I’m going to Alessandro’s” — but because “going to” so often maps onto Italian a, English speakers are tempted to say vado ad Alessandro by analogy. That’s incorrect: when the destination is a person rather than a place, Italian requires da, not a.

Duration is another common trap. English distinguishes between “since” (marking a starting point in time) and “for” (marking a length of time): “I’ve lived here since 2021” versus “I’ve lived here for three years.” Italian doesn’t make that distinction — it uses da for both. So vivo qui da tre anni means “I’ve lived here for three years,” and vivo qui dal 2021 means “I’ve lived here since 2021.” In both cases, Italian simply uses da, while English switches the preposition depending on whether it’s referring to a point in time or a span of time. This is exactly the kind of detail that trips up English speakers when translating directly from their own language.

5. IN: place, means of transport

IN is used to express being in a place, especially larger or institutional places.

– Lavoro in ufficio.

This preposition is also used to indicate the means of transport.

– Vengo in treno.

Watch out here: in English, we describe the means of transport with “by” — “I’m coming by train,” “I’m coming by car.” Italian doesn’t work the same way: it always uses in for this function, regardless of the means of transport: in treno, in macchina, in aereo, in bicicletta. There’s no word-for-word equivalent of “by” involved — just remember that in is the preposition Italian reaches for here. Con is also technically possible (vengo con il treno), but in remains by far the most natural and common choice.

6. CON: company, instrument

CON generally corresponds to “with” in English. It’s first used for company, to say who you’re doing something with.

– Esco con Silvia.

This preposition is also used for the means or instrument used to carry out an action.

– Scrivo con la penna rossa.

7. SU: place

SU mainly expresses being in a place, in the physical sense of “on”.

– Resto seduta su questa sedia.

8. PER: direction, duration, purpose

PER is a preposition with many uses. It first expresses movement through or towards a place, often with the idea of departure.

– Parto per Dublino.

It’s also used for the planned duration of an action.

– Parto per due settimane.

Finally, this preposition expresses purpose, aim.

– Sono in Italia per lavoro.

9. TRA / FRA: place, time

TRA and FRA are two perfectly interchangeable forms (the choice between the two is often just a matter of euphony, to avoid repeating similar sounds). They’re used for place, to locate something between two points.

– Roma è tra Firenze e Napoli.

These prepositions are also used for time, to indicate how long until an action takes place. Notice that in this case, English uses “in” rather than “between”.

– L’aereo parte tra due ore. (the plane leaves in two hours)

10. A quick summary table to review everything at a glance

Preposition	Function	Example
DI	origin	Di dove sei?
DI	belonging	Questo è l’ufficio di Mike.
A	being in a place	Sono a scuola.
A	time	A mezzogiorno
A	recipient	Telefono a Giorgio.
DA	origin	Vengo da Buenos Aires.
DA	movement towards someone	Vado da Alessandro.
DA	duration	Da molto tempo
IN	being in a place	Lavoro in ufficio.
IN	means of transport	Vengo in treno.
CON	company	Esco con Silvia.
CON	instrument	Scrivo con la penna rossa.
SU	being in a place	Resto seduta su questa sedia.
PER	movement	Parto per Dublino.
PER	duration	Parto per due settimane.
PER	purpose	Sono in Italia per lavoro.
TRA/FRA	place	Roma è tra Firenze e Napoli.
TRA/FRA	time	L’aereo parte tra due ore.

11. Why are prepositions so important in Italian?

It’s tempting to overlook prepositions and focus instead on verb conjugation or vocabulary. Yet a wrongly chosen preposition can completely change the meaning of a sentence, or even make it incomprehensible to an Italian speaker. Saying vado a Alessandro instead of vado da Alessandro, for example, simply doesn’t make sense in Italian.

Mastering simple prepositions is therefore an essential step towards building natural, fluent, correct sentences. It’s also what makes the difference between “textbook” Italian, translated word for word from English, and authentic Italian that truly sounds like a native speaker.

12. Want to go further?

To review all these rules in a clear, organised way, and easily refer back to them while doing exercises, check out the complete grammar sheet on “Le preposizioni semplici” in the Sillabi grammar resources. It’s designed as a reference tool to keep at hand whenever a doubt comes up.

13. Ready to take your Italian to the next level?

Theory gives you the tools, but it’s regular, guided practice that will help you truly internalise these prepositions and use them without even thinking, just like native speakers do.

If you’d like to strengthen your grammar foundations, gain confidence speaking, and learn to use living, natural Italian, discover the Allegramente! course: a progressive, practical and motivating path designed to guide you step by step towards fluent, authentic Italian.

And if you’re not sure where to start, take the level test: in just a few minutes, it will show you the ideal starting point for your learning journey.