1. The Italian preposition “di” means “of” in English. It is used in many different ways as you can see below.

# To indicate possession:

Il libro di Marco – Marco’s book

La casa di Elisa – Elisa’s house

# To indicate what an object is made of:

La sedia di legno – The wooden chair

Un maglione di lana – A wool sweater

# To indicate origin (verb “essere” %2B di %2B name of the city):

Franco è di Palermo. – Franco is from Palermo.

Marisa è di Milano. – Marisa is from Milano.

# With certain verbs and adjectives:

Aver paura di qualcosa – To be afraid of something, to fear something

Vergognarsi di qualcosa – To be ashamed by something

# To indicate the part of the day in expressions like:

di giorno – by day

di sera – in the evening

d’estate – in summer

di notte – at night

di mattina – in the morning

di pomeriggio – in the afternoon

2. The Italian preposition “a” means “to” (indirect object and movement), “in”or “at”, indicating location:

Sto a casa. – I stay at home.

Vado a Roma. – I go to the Rome.

3. The Italian preposition “da” means “since”, “from” (to come from), “by” (passive verbs):

Da lunedì – since Monday

Vengo da Roma. – I come from Rome.

Ucciso da un fulmine – Killed by lightning

4. The Italian preposition “in” usually means “in” as in English, “at”, “on”:

Vivo in Scozia. – I live in Scotland.

Il pranzo è in tavola. – Lunch is on the table.

In fondo – at bottom

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Learning to Love the Lingo

If you are serious about learning Italian in Italy, you should stay in an area where Italian is the only language that is spoken. If you visit an area like Rome, for example, you will find that a great many people in the city speak English. This is like this in most tourist areas of Italy. The more touristy the area, the more people will speak English. You may know a few words in Italian, but you will not even come close to actually learning how to speak Italian when you visit these cities.

In order to learn to speak Italian, you should visit a part of Italy where the people do not speak English. This may be difficult to do, as well as frightening. It can be very intimidating, not knowing how to speak a language but being forced to communicate with others. However, this is the best way for you to learn how to speak this language.

Not only will you get a chance to actually learn to speak Italian when you are visiting Italy, but you will also get a unique opportunity to be able to see how real Italian people live. This can be a once in a lifetime opportunity for you. Rather than just see the tourist area of Italy, you will get to see the areas where the real Italian people live. What better way to truly experience Italy?

Getting Familiar with the Lingo

Before you take your trip to Italy, you should take some lessons in Italian. This will help you try to understand the language before you take the trip. The more you learn, the better off you will be, although be aware that many people will speak very fast and it will not be as easy to understand as when you are learning in a classroom setting or in a book. You should also take a book with you so that you can translate for yourself when you are in want of something.

If you make it a point not to speak any other language but Italian during your trip, you will become better versed in this language. If you frequently fall back on English, you will find that you use this as a crutch for yourself and will not make yourself learn this language. If you feel that you have to learn the language in order to survive, you will do so. If you feel that you can always revert back to English if you really want to, then you will not learn Italian.

The best way to learn Italian is to go to Italy to an area where English is not spoken. The more you speak Italian, the more you will learn and understand and the easier the language will be for you.

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