In Italian many prepositions are needed to form the various prepositional phrases of place.
a: Usually the preposition of place a is used with the names of:
1. Cities (e.g. Cape Town )
2. Small islands (e.g. Sardegna)
Examples:
Dopo domani vado a Milano.
I'm going to Milan the day after tomorrow.
in: Most of the time the preposition of place in is used with the names of:
1. Nations (e.g. Italy)
2. Regions (e.g. Lombardia)
3. Continents (e.g. Europe)
4. Large islands (e.g. Britain)
Examples:
Roma è in Italia.
Rome is in Italy.
L'anno prossimo voglio andare in Reggio Calabria.
Next year I want to go to Reggio Calabria.
da: Normally the preposition of place da is used with:
1. People's names
2. Personal pronouns
Examples:
Andiamo da Franco domani?
Shall we go to Franco's tomorrow?
per: Normally the preposition of place per is used with the verbs:
1. Partire (to leave)
2. Passare (to go through)
Examples:
Quando parti per New York?
When are you leaving for New York?
Se vado a Cagliari passo per Sassari.
If I go to Cagliari I'll go through Sassari.
See also:
Italian Course: Unit 10 Simple and articulated prepositions in italian. Le preposizioni sono ...
Italian Exercises Simple prepositions in italian
Italian Video Exercise Simple prepositions in italian
