Other Prepositions in Italian

In Brief

Use con for “with,” su for “on” or “about,” per for ideas such as “for,” “through,” and purpose, and tra/fra for “between,” “among,” or future time. Tra and fra have the same meaning. Because English and Italian prepositions do not always match word for word, learn whole phrases such as con Marco, sul tavolo, per te, and tra dieci minuti.

Overview

A preposition is a short word that connects another part of the sentence to a noun or pronoun: compare English “with Anna,” “on the table,” and “for you.” At A1, Italian learners meet con, su, per, tra, and fra in everyday sentences about companions, objects, destinations, reasons, and time.

These words are called simple prepositions because each basic form is one word. However, su normally joins a following definite article—the forms of “the,” such as il, lo, and la. That is why su + il tavolo becomes sul tavolo. The other prepositions in this group behave differently, so it helps to learn each one as part of a phrase rather than apply one contraction rule to all of them.

English gives useful first approximations, but not reliable one-to-one translations. Italian per covers several English prepositions, while English “for” may require a different Italian construction in some contexts. Begin with the core patterns below; later sections separate less basic uses from what you need immediately.

How It Works

The beginner map

Preposition	Main idea	Common English equivalents	Example
con	company, instrument, manner	with, by	Esco con Giulia.
su	contact with a surface, topic	on, about	È sul tavolo.
per	recipient, purpose, route, reason	for, to, through, because of	È per Luca.
tra / fra	separation, position within a group, future interval	between, among, in	Parto tra un’ora.

Con: company, instruments, and manner

Use con for a companion—someone or something that accompanies the action:

• Vado con Marco. — “I’m going with Marco.”
• Abito con i miei genitori. — “I live with my parents.”

It also introduces an instrument (the thing used to perform an action):

• Scrivo con una matita. — “I write with a pencil.”
• Taglia il pane con il coltello. — “Cut the bread with the knife.”

A noun after con can describe how something is done:

• Parla con calma. — “Speak calmly.”
• Ascolto con attenzione. — “I listen carefully.”

In these phrases, English often uses an adverb such as “calmly” or “carefully” where Italian uses con + noun.

Su: on a surface and about a topic

Use su when something rests on, moves onto, or is associated with a surface:

• Il bicchiere è sul tavolo. — “The glass is on the table.”
• Metto la borsa sulla sedia. — “I put the bag on the chair.”

Use it for the topic of a book, conversation, lesson, film, or other content:

• Leggo un libro su Roma. — “I’m reading a book about Rome.”
• Facciamo una domanda sul corso. — “We ask a question about the course.”

Before a definite article, su forms an articulated preposition (a preposition and “the” combined into one word):

Combination	Form	Example
su + il	sul	sul tavolo
su + lo	sullo	sullo scaffale
su + la	sulla	sulla porta
su + l’	sull’	sull’autobus
su + i	sui	sui libri
su + gli	sugli	sugli scaffali
su + le	sulle	sulle sedie

With no definite article, keep su separate: su un tavolo, su questa pagina, su Roma.

Per: recipient, purpose, route, and cause

Per has several high-frequency jobs. Use it for the intended recipient or beneficiary:

• Questo regalo è per te. — “This gift is for you.”
• Preparo la cena per gli amici. — “I’m preparing dinner for my friends.”

Use per + infinitive—the basic verb form ending in -are, -ere, or -ire—to express purpose, meaning “in order to”:

• Studio per imparare. — “I study to learn.”
• Esco per comprare il pane. — “I’m going out to buy bread.”

It can mark a destination, especially after verbs of departure, or a route through a place:

• Partiamo per Napoli domani. — “We leave for Naples tomorrow.”
• Passiamo per il centro. — “We go through the city centre.”

It can also introduce a reason or cause:

• Il treno è in ritardo per la neve. — “The train is late because of the snow.”

For a limited or planned duration, per may introduce the length of time:

• Resto a Firenze per tre giorni. — “I’m staying in Florence for three days.”

Do not automatically insert an article after per. It remains separate even when a definite article follows: per il, per lo, per la, per i, per gli, per le.

Tra and fra: two equivalent forms

Tra and fra are interchangeable in meaning. Both can locate something between two points or people:

• La banca è tra il bar e la farmacia. — “The bank is between the café and the pharmacy.”
• Siediti fra Marta e Paolo. — “Sit between Marta and Paolo.”

They can also mean “among” within a larger group:

• È una tradizione tra amici. — “It’s a tradition among friends.”
• Fra questi libri, preferisco quello blu. — “Among these books, I prefer the blue one.”

Before an amount of future time, tra/fra means “in” or “after this interval”:

• Arrivo tra dieci minuti. — “I’ll arrive in ten minutes.”
• Fra una settimana parto. — “I’m leaving in a week.”

Like per, these forms do not merge with an article: tra il bar e la banca, fra gli studenti.

Examples in Context

Italian	English	Note
Vado con Marco.	I’m going with Marco.	con for company
Bevo il tè con il limone.	I drink tea with lemon.	con links an accompanying ingredient
Scrive con una penna rossa.	She writes with a red pen.	instrument
Aspettiamo con pazienza.	We wait patiently.	manner: literally “with patience”
Il libro è sul tavolo.	The book is on the table.	su + il = sul
C’è una foto sulla parete.	There is a photo on the wall.	su + la = sulla
Guardo un documentario sull’Italia.	I’m watching a documentary about Italy.	topic: su + l’ = sull’
Questo regalo è per te.	This gift is for you.	intended recipient
Uso il telefono per chiamare mia sorella.	I use the phone to call my sister.	per + infinitive expresses purpose
Domani partiamo per Bologna.	Tomorrow we leave for Bologna.	destination after partire
Andiamo a Roma passando per Orvieto.	We’re going to Rome via Orvieto.	route or intermediate place
Resto qui per due ore.	I’m staying here for two hours.	limited duration
Il gatto dorme tra le sedie.	The cat is sleeping between the chairs.	position
Fra tutti i dolci, scelgo il tiramisù.	Among all the desserts, I choose tiramisu.	choice from a group
Arrivo tra dieci minuti.	I’ll arrive in ten minutes.	future interval

Common Mistakes

Keeping su separate from a definite article

• Wrong: Il libro è su il tavolo.
• Right: Il libro è sul tavolo.
• Why: Su normally combines with a following definite article: su + il = sul.

Contracting per as though it behaved like su

• Wrong: Questo è pel bambino.
• Right: Questo è per il bambino.
• Why: In contemporary standard Italian, write per and the article separately. Forms such as pel are literary or old-fashioned, not the beginner pattern.

Translating English “in” literally in future-time expressions

• Wrong: Arrivo in dieci minuti when you mean that you will arrive ten minutes from now.
• Right: Arrivo tra dieci minuti.
• Why: Tra/fra + amount of time gives the normal future countdown. In dieci minuti can instead describe the time needed to complete something: Faccio il lavoro in dieci minuti (“I do the job in ten minutes”).

Using per for an action that has continued since the past

• Wrong: Vivo qui per due anni when you mean “I have lived here for two years and still do.”
• Right: Vivo qui da due anni.
• Why: Italian normally uses da with a present-tense verb for an action that began in the past and continues now. Use per for a bounded or planned duration: Resto qui per due anni.

Assuming tra means only “between two” and fra means “among many”

• Wrong rule: tra for two, fra for more than two.
• Right: tra Marco e Luca and fra Marco e Luca are both possible; so are tra gli amici and fra gli amici.
• Why: The two prepositions differ in sound, not meaning.

Copying the English preposition after every verb

• Wrong: Aspetto per Anna for “I’m waiting for Anna.”
• Right: Aspetto Anna.
• Why: Italian aspettare takes its object directly, with no per. A familiar English verb-preposition pair is not proof that Italian uses the same preposition.

Usage Notes

Articles and contractions

The most important contrast is simple: su regularly contracts with every definite article, while per, tra, and fra do not. Con is less tidy. The separate forms con il and con i are always safe and common; the contracted forms col and coi are also standard, but usage varies by speaker and context. Other old forms such as colla and cogli are uncommon in neutral modern prose, where con la and con gli are preferred.

Choosing between tra and fra

There is no grammatical difference. Speakers sometimes choose the form that sounds smoother and avoids repeated sounds: fra tre giorni may feel easier than tra tre giorni, while tra fratelli avoids the repeated fr- sound of fra fratelli. This is a preference, not a compulsory rule.

English “on” is broader than Italian su

Physical location often uses su, but fixed expressions may choose another preposition. For example, Italian says in televisione (“on television”) and al telefono (“on the phone”). Treat the English translation as a clue, then confirm the complete Italian phrase.

Pronouns after these prepositions

After a preposition, use the stressed pronoun forms: me, te, lui, lei, noi, voi, loro. Thus Italian says con me, per te, and tra loro. Do not use the short object-pronoun forms mi or ti after the preposition.

Beyond the Basics: Advanced Use

You do not need to master the following details at A1, but they explain uses you will encounter later.

Su can mean “approximately” before a quantity, especially in patterns such as sui trent’anni (“around thirty years old”) or un libro sulle duecento pagine (“a book of about two hundred pages”). Context distinguishes this from physical “on.” It also appears in commands such as Su, andiamo! (“Come on, let’s go!”), where it functions independently rather than linking a noun.

Per appears in many structures whose meaning must be learned as a unit. Per me may mean “for me” as a recipient, but it can also mean “in my opinion”: Per me, è troppo tardi. The pattern stare per + infinitive means “to be about to”: Sto per uscire (“I’m about to go out”). In passive sentences, per can sometimes introduce the agent, particularly in set or formal wording, although da is the usual preposition for the person or force performing the action.

Tra/fra can express relationships and mutual situations, not just physical position: parlare tra amici (“talk among friends”), un accordo fra due aziende (“an agreement between two companies”), and tra me e me (“to myself,” literally “between me and myself”). They also occur before alternatives: tra il tè e il caffè, preferisco il caffè (“between tea and coffee, I prefer coffee”).

Finally, a duration and a future interval answer different questions. Studio per due ore describes how long the studying lasts. Studio tra due ore says the studying will begin two hours from now. That small change of preposition changes the timeline completely.

Practice Tips

1. Build phrase families. Make four columns headed con, su, per, and tra/fra. Add useful chunks such as con calma, sul tavolo, per favore, and tra un’ora rather than isolated translations.
2. Practise the su contractions aloud. Point to nearby objects and say where they are: sul tavolo, sulla sedia, sui libri. This links the article form to a real noun.
3. Contrast time expressions. Write paired sentences with per, tra, and da: Resto per un mese (planned duration), Parto tra un mese (future starting point), Vivo qui da un mese (continuing from the past).

Related Concepts

• Foundation: Common Prepositions — compare a, di, da, in with the prepositions in this article.
• Next step: Articulated Prepositions — learn systematically how prepositions combine with definite articles, including sul, sulla, and sugli.