The Italian preposition a can mean "to," "at," or "in," depending on how you use it in context. You will need preposition a in the following cases:
( _: D$ g- U3 P+ Q2 ` 1. To express the idea of going somewhere or staying somewhere (with names of cities):; _1 G J5 [. Z# z) C& R$ s
Vado a Milano. (I go to Milan.)9 t" e' w; D, v( N m
Vado al mercato ogni lunedì. (I go to the market every Monday.)5 c$ a; B# u) N4 w% y
Si trova a Venezia. (It can be found in Venice.); Y2 p0 y! w0 c
Si trova alla piazza. (It can be found in the plaza.)
3 x5 H3 m& v5 q; U# d3 N9 L7 `$ O 2. Before direct objects:
' h7 v% c% S' v" S8 @% B v4 B Scriva a Rita. (He/she writes to Rita.)
8 n, \3 s+ [/ e! N A. T5 `5 \# n Scriviamo alla zia. (We write to our aunt.)3 E! n0 g6 Z; b% K; d
Telefono agli amici. (They call their friends.)
/ F# i) p2 V3 F+ E 3. The preposition a is also used with several verbs. Often those are verbs of motion, but in other instances it's a case of usage. That means either you'll have to commit them to memory, or, more likely, you'll grow accustomed to the usage over time as you listen and read Italian:# j' I5 _2 Y( i3 ]/ p8 Q
andare a... (to go to)
6 ?* o0 I$ [1 C fermarsi a... (to stop)
; i2 t, m. e% j3 S0 X6 A5 t incoraggiare a... (to encourage)
$ _6 x- y5 `) n1 a2 E invitare a... (to invite to)4 P9 [! f! @& V
insegnare a... (to teach) Z( ^1 l0 q+ I& [2 \* \* ^
riuscire a... (to be careful)
. z# d1 P$ Q, @) ^6 v4 }, N7 O venire a... (to come to)) B8 J7 _" H ]
4. To form several grammatical constructions with particular significance:/ {: K" b H2 g3 O! }/ L7 p: @
a mezzogiorno (at noontime)
8 G1 N! u. T" ?' q alle tre (at three)
$ X. E2 ^# o. b' y* } barca a vela (sailboat)
; Z# O& E& P6 e& b4 f6 d( Q sedia a rotelle (wheelchair) |