Chapter 24   Italian Prepositions part 1

a = at, in, on, to; used with verbs of motion, teaching, or learning; required when an action is directed to a person; used with expressions of time
            contracted with articles as follows
            a + il = al         a + i = ai          a + lo = allo     a + gli = agli
            a + la = alla     a + le = alle      a + l' = all'

1 (place or position) at, in, on
essere a ~ to be at ~
sedere a ~ to sit at ~
ai piedi del mọnte at the foot of the mountain
nato a Milano born in Milan
abitare al secọndo piano to live on the second floor
L'aereo atterrò a Roma The plane landed at Rome
restare a letto to stay in bed
2 (motion) to
andare alla staziọne to go to the station
andare a casa to go home
Ho spedito la merce a Lọndra  I sent the goods to London
Vadi a letto! Go to bed!
3 (action toward a person) to
Dallo a me Give it to me
Regalerò un orolọgio a Paolo   I'll give Paul a watch
Dissi a lei I talked to her
Lo presentai a Lidia I introduced him to Lidia
4 (time) at; in
a Natale at Christmas
alle dieci at ten
all'alba at dawn
a mezzanotte at midnight
a pomeriggio inoltrato  late in the afternoon
a diciotto anni at eighteen
5 (way or style) by, at, in
a uno a uno one by one, one at a time
a dozzine by the dozen
a intervalli di cinque secọndi at intervals of five seconds
a mie spese at my own expense
all'italiana in the Italian fashion, style
a memoria by heart
scritto a mano written by hand, handwritten
a tuo rischio at your own risk
with verbs of motion, teaching, or learning
Andiamo a vedere! Let's go see!
imparare a nuotare to learn to swim
the English equivalent of the contraction al + an infinitive verb is upon or on.
 Al vederlo, lo salutai Upon, on seeing him, I greeted him.
accanto a = beside, by, close to, near, next to:
Accanto al tạvolo beside (or by, next to) the table
L'uomo accanto a me the man next to (or beside) me
Stia accanto a me Keep close to me.
accosto a = close to, near, next to [a synonym for accanto a, but used less frequently]
appiè di = at the foot of
appiè di pạgina at the foot of the page.
attorno a = about, around
1 (location) around, round, about
girare attorno al tạvolo to go round the table
girare attorno a un argomẹnto  to beat about the bush
sedere attorno al tạvolo to sit around the table
2 (estimate) around, about
attorno alle trè around three o'clock
attraverso = across, through
1 (location) across, through
C'è un albero attraverso la strada There is a tree fallen across the street
Veniva attraverso il campo He was coming across the field
Siamo venuti attraverso il bosco We came through the wood
guardare attraverso una lente to look through a lens
passare attraverso una città to pass through a town
2 (time) across, over
attraverso i sẹcoli over the centuries
attraverso gli anni through the years
3 (by way of) through (in the sense of means)
attraverso lunghe ricerche through lengthy research
avanti = ahead of
1 (location) ahead of
avanti a tutti ahead of everybody
passare avanti to overtake someone or something
2 (time) before
avanti Cristo before Christ
avanti giọrno before dawn
avant'ieri the day before yesterday
avanti tempo ahead of time, prematurely
circa = about, approximately, around, or so, roughly, thereabouts:
1 (approximately)
 Il viaggio durerà tre giọrni circa The journey will last about three days
un uomo di circa sessant'anni a man of about sixty
circa duemila spettatọri approximately two thousand spectators
alle trè circa three o'clock or so
2 (in reference to) about, as to, with regard to
 Devo parlarti circa il viaggio   I must talk to you about the trip
circa la vostra richiesta with regard to your request

cọn = with (in all senses)
            contracted with articles as follows
            cọn + il = cọl             c?n + l' = c?ll' cọllo      cọn + gli = cọgli
            cọn + la = cọlla          cọn + le = cọlle            cọn + l' = cọll'      cọn + loro' = cọloro

1 (accompanying) to, towards, with

          

1 (accompanying) to, towards, with
Lo vidi cọn lei I saw him with you
Ho passato la serata cọn amici I passed the night with friends
Parlai cọloro I spoke with them
tenersi in contatto cọn to keep in touch with
L'olio non si mẹscola cọn l'acqua Oil will not mix with water
confrontare l'originale cọn la copia to compare the original with the copy
caffẹ cọn panna coffee with cream
2 (against) with
litigare cọn to quarrel with
ẹssere in guerra cọn to be at war with
3 (means) by, by means of , with
Vediamo cọn gli occhi We see with our eyes
tagliare cọn il coltello to cut with a knife
Feci cọn le mie mani I did it with my own hands
assicurato cọn una catena fastened with a chain
arrivare col treno to arrive by train
cọn l'aiuto di Dio with God's help
4 (material) from; out of
Il vino si fa cọn l'uva wine is made from grapes
5 (manner) in, with
fare cọn facilità to do with ease
procedere cọn cautela to proceed with caution
cọn tutto il cuore with all one's heart
cọn sforzo with effort
6 (characteristic, possession) with
a letto cọn la febbre in bed with a fever, temperature
un uomo cọn i capelli bianchi  a man with white hair
cọn l'arrivo dell'inverno with the coming of winter
Hai denaro cọn te? Have you any money with you?
Come va col italiano?   How's your Italian coming along?
Come va cọn quel braccio? How's it going with your arm?
Sono indietro col lavoro I'm behind with my work 
cọntro = against; when it is used with a personal pronoun, contro is always followed by di
1 (in opposition, contrast) against, contrary to, counter to, in opposition to
cọntro la mia volontà against my will
cọntro la legge  against the law
un'idea cọntro ragiọne  an idea contrary to reason
votare cọntro una moziọne to vote against a motion
la mia parola cọntro la tua my word against yours
2 (location) against; into
il tạvolo cọntro il muro the table against the wall
Ho picchiato la testa cọntro lo scaffale I knocked my head against the shelf
also used to mean
cọntro assegno cash on delivery
cọntro pagamento on payment
pagamento cọntro documenti   payment against documents.

 

Chapter 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24-2 24-3 24-4 24-5

Appendix A B C D E F G H I

Index

This book is available from lulu.com under item number 1937908. Books purchased from Lulu are accompanied by a complete list of irregular verbs and all of their forms.

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