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: r+ x6 w4 t- z% i: y4 Y3 d+ e% G
1. To express the idea of going somewhere or staying somewhere (with names of cities): ( X' d- J/ Z4 e0 G7 M2 @1 |+ x
Vado a Milano. (I go to Milan.)
" P0 |: I, a X6 z/ n" q$ XVado al mercato ogni lunedì. (I go to the market every Monday.)
. u7 S5 U* ?+ x. i5 @$ {Si trova a Venezia. (It can be found in Venice.)' G2 T( G- G9 l5 [0 m# j
Si trova alla piazza. (It can be found in the plaza.)
D g# D( h1 r- m& u2. Before direct objects: " o4 v/ F, Q- ~9 q5 \' {
Scriva a Rita. (He/she writes to Rita.)/ U" K, m9 _- p% i6 {
Scriviamo alla zia. (We write to our aunt.)* d4 k8 z ?. ~6 F; U9 |- q* b
Telefono agli amici. (They call their friends.) # b# s$ H _/ B" ]
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: 8 M7 e9 N& p2 u O5 S# A4 k
andare a... (to go to)
# D8 m' q# T% {% T1 Q& W0 sfermarsi a... (to stop)' X! [& R& u2 C# u7 O2 o( s
incoraggiare a... (to encourage)
! b; X0 X* m1 @5 g9 M: F1 ginvitare a... (to invite to)
( \! d7 L( F% V finsegnare a... (to teach)
. d+ j% {5 _; p9 y" criuscire a... (to be careful)
3 g! J) ^+ l5 a" w) vvenire a... (to come to) ; b- A# B% E& Q% j7 p7 b f) [
4. To form several grammatical constructions with particular significance: ; D2 K* ^( o& [8 _
a mezzogiorno (at noontime)! ~5 u1 l {, M: _+ G
alle tre (at three): _8 ~" s! j8 _* l
barca a vela (sailboat)
/ ?7 ^1 `6 z9 M5 E' w! Ksedia a rotelle (wheelchair) |