Italian prepositions — how to learn them without frustration
How to use Italian prepositions is one of the most interesting challenges for people learning Italian. The topic appears relatively early in any learner’s journey — usually around chapter 5 or 6 of a beginner textbook — and it often causes real frustration. In my career as an Italian teacher, I’ve seen many people give up halfway through a course because of prepositions. I understand why: they’re not intuitive, they’re very theoretical, and mastering them can seem impossible. The rules, let’s be honest, aren’t always logical or consistent.
At the same time, I think: it’s absurd to give up speaking Italian just because prepositions are hard. That’s like giving up pizza because the knife doesn’t cut well. Anyone learning Italian needs to understand what prepositions are, find the right approach — and stop being afraid of making mistakes. Here are my suggestions, from my experience as a teacher.
Italian prepositions — what they are and what they do
Prepositions are a fundamental part of the Italian sentence. They indicate the function of different parts of a sentence — what grammarians call complements — and they answer key questions like Where? and When?. They matter from the very beginning.
Antonio abita a Pavia con la sua famiglia, in un appartamento in centro. (Antonio lives in Pavia with his family, in an apartment in the city centre.)
A very simple sentence, A1 level, that anyone can understand instinctively — and yet it contains four prepositions.
DI, A, DA, IN, CON, SU, PER, FRA and TRA. Italians use these in almost every sentence, often completely instinctively. And it’s very difficult — almost impossible — to learn them as an adult in the same way native children do. But a good compromise is absolutely possible.
My approach to teaching prepositions
When I was teaching in Warsaw, at a traditional language school, I explained prepositions one by one, following the textbook. Preposition DI is used in this context, preposition A in that one, and so on. The result? Students were frustrated, felt like they weren’t really learning, and at best could solve the exercises.
After years of trying different approaches, I changed my method entirely.
Instead of explaining prepositions in sequence — systematic, but unnecessarily complicated for adults studying in their free time — I explain them based on their function.
For example: which prepositions do we use to refer to space? I explain why we use A for cities, IN for countries, DA for people. Or: which prepositions do we use for time? IN with seasons, ALLE with clock times, A with months.
For my students, this system is much clearer. They see Italian prepositions in a real, coherent context — not in an abstract table full of unrelated examples.
And then I always say something that many teachers don’t say: if you occasionally make a mistake with prepositions, it’s not that serious. If you say vado in vacanza a Italia instead of in Italia — technically it’s wrong. Will people understand you? Absolutely. Is there a grammar police in Italy ready to arrest you for a wrong preposition? No. If the choice is between speaking and risking a mistake, or not speaking out of fear — making the mistake is a hundred times better.
Italian prepositions: a long journey
I want to tell you something honest that might sound frustrating at first, but is actually a liberation: you never finish studying prepositions.
Think about verb patterns — decidere DI fare qualcosa (to decide to do something), iniziare A fare qualcosa (to start doing something), litigare CON qualcuno (to argue with someone). It’s not possible to learn these from a table. The only way is through long, consistent and relaxed contact with Italian — reading, listening, writing, speaking. And making mistakes. Sbagliando si impara — we learn by making mistakes — is an Italian saying I truly believe in.
I don’t only talk about prepositions in my beginner course — I sometimes prepare activities on prepositions for people in my advanced conversation courses too. Because you never stop refining them. But that’s actually a good thing: it means the Italian you speak keeps getting richer, more varied and more satisfying.
Does this philosophy appeal to you? Visit my courses page or talk to me directly in a free introductory call. Maybe I can help you get rid of the ghost of Italian prepositions for good.