We’re going back to grammar this week because it’s time to learn how to say “to the” and “at the”.
Some people find prepositions very difficult in Italian but, as we have seen before, the key is knowing the correct definite article to use with the word.
You can check this here and here. If you look back at the lesson on how to say “of the” or “some” you will see that the rules are similar.
The following examples tell you how to say “to the” or “at the” by referring to the definite article [“the”]:
The to / at the
Example:
il --> al "al mercato"
lo --> allo "allo stadio"
l’ [masc] --> all’ "all’albergo"
la --> alla "alla banca"
l’ [fem] --> all’ "all’alba [at dawn]"
i --> ai "ai negozi"
gli --> agli "agli zii"
le --> alle "alle otto"
Time
We say:
a mezzogiorno / a mezzanotte – at midday / midnight.
all’una – at one o’clock
As we have seen, we use alle in front of other times to say “at”:
alle tre – at three o’clock
alle quattordici – at 2 pm
You will hear combinations of preposition and article when being given directions, for example:
accanto alla piazza – next to the square
vicino al cinema – near the cinema
di fronte all’albergo – opposite the hotel
davanti al bar – in front of the bar
dietro alla chiesa – behind the church
Exercice
Now you try - Insert the correct form of “a” in these sentences:
Vado nella chiesa '_____ angolo.
Spedisco un regalo _____ sposi.
Ci vediamo _____ stadio _____ sette.
Cosa danno ______ televisione stasera?
Devo andare _____ supermercato.
La posta è accanto '______ osteria.
Oggi andiamo _____ mare.
Parlo _____ ragazzi.
