Italian Prepositions A and IN

 Do you hate prepositions as much as I do? :) Do not worry! In this video you will learn the difference between preposition A and IN and you will begin to like them.. maybe a tiny little bit!

Click here to download the PDF of the lesson (FREE!)

Looking for a super nice book only with prepositions? I suggest you check this one out:

When will you need to use preposition A:

Before the names of cities.

• Vado a Milano
• Vivo a Roma
• Sono nata a Palermo
• Studio a Napoli

BE CAREFUL!!! A becomes AD before the names of cities that starts with a vowel. 

• Studio ad Amburgo
• Vivo ad Alessandria 

A is also used in front of names of small states, or small cities such as:

• Vado a San Marino
• Abito a Sorrento

A is used in front of the names of small islands, for examples:

• Vado a Malta
• Vado a Ibiza
• Vado a Capri

A is used with cardinals points:

• A Sud, a Nord, a Est, a Ovest

A is also used with some verbs when they are followed by another action (and the infinitive verb is used), for example:

• Iniziare a – Inizio a lavorare alle 9 del mattino 
• Aiutare a – mi aiuti a pulire la macchina?
• Riuscire a – non riesco a dormire perché fa troppo caldo!

Sentences that use preposition A:

• a scuola,
• a lavoro
• a piedi
• a letto
• a colazione
• a pranzo
• a cena
• a destra
• a sinistra

When will you use IN?

Before nouns of countries:

• Vivo in Italia
• Vivo in Germania
• Abito in Francia

If the countries is grammatically plural, for example, the preposition will change a little and it will be : nei, negli.

• Vivo negli Stati Uniti
• Ho studiato nei Paesi Bassi
• Abito negli Emirati Arabi

IN is used too with the names of regions or states:

• Vivo in Umbria
• Vivo in Arizona

IN is used with names of the big islands, for instance

• Vivo in Sicilia
• Abito in Corsica 

IN is used with the names of the streets or squares, (so think of your address)

• Lavoro a Milano, in via Manzoni 6
• Vivo a Padova in via Forlanini 12

IN is finally used with the name of shops or places ending in –ia.

Vado…

• in farmacia
• in pizzeria
• in gelateria
• in macelleria
• in profumeria

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