Italian prepositions

DI (of, from)

Possession: "Il libro di Maria" (Maria's book)
Origin: "Sono di Roma" (I'm from Rome)
Material: "Una tavola di legno" (a wooden table)
Partitive: "un po' di pane" (some bread)
After certain verbs: cercare di, finire di, smettere di
Number of something : un milione di dollari
The pirpose of somthing e.g: il tavolo della cucina (the kitchen table)
Time: di domenica, di notte (on sunday, at night)
Dopo di noi (after us)
A causa di = because of

A (to, at)

Destination: "Vado a Roma" (I'm going to Rome)
Location (cities): "Abito a Milano" (I live in Milan)
Time: "A mezzogiorno" (at noon)

Fino quando? (how long)
Indirect object: "Parlo a te" (I'm talking to you)
After certain verbs: cominciare a, imparare a, insegnare a
Flavours: e.g un gelato alla fragola
Purpose: used with the infinitive e.g Sono uscita a fare due passi

DA (from, by, since)

Origin/source: "Vengo da casa" (I'm coming from home)
Since (time): "Vivo qui da tre anni" (I've lived here for three years)

‘as’ = Da bambino

how long you have been doing something e/g Aspetto da un pezzo
Purpose: "occhiali da sole" (sunglassesglasses for sun)
At someone's place: "Vado da Marco" (I'm going to Marco's place)

vado dal giornalaio
Passive agent: "fatto da me" (made by me)

IN (in, to)

Location (countries/regions): "Vivo in Italia" (I live in Italy), In montagna, in collina, in campagna
Means of transport: "Vado in macchina" (I go by car) EXCEPTION: a piedi, a cavallo
Time (months/years/seasons): "In estate" (in summer)
Inside enclosed spaces: "In casa" (at home/inside the house)

CON (with)

Accompaniment: "Vado con te" (I'm going with you)
Means/instrument: "Scrivo con la penna" (I write with a pen)
Manner: "Con calma" (calmly)

SU (on, upon)

Physical position: "Il libro è sul tavolo" (The book is on the table)
About/concerning: "un libro su Roma" (a book about Rome)
Approximate numbers: "Sui 20 anni" (around 20 years old)
Qui su/qua su = up here

PER (for, through)

Purpose: "Studio per imparare" (I study to learn)
Duration: "Per tre ore" (for three hours)
Destination: "Parto per Roma" (I'm leaving for Rome)
Through: "Passo per il parco" (I pass through the park)
Cause: "Piango per la gioia" (I cry for joy)

/
TRA/FRA (between, among)

• Between two things: "Tra te e me" (between you and me)

• Among many: "Tra gli studenti" (among the students)

• Future time: "Tra due ore" (in two hours / two hours from now)

• Both are interchangeable - use whichever sounds better!