Prepositions after verbs - Easy Learning Grammar Italian
- English verbs are often followed by prepositions, for example, I’m relying on you, They’ll write to him, He was accused of murder.
- The same is true of Italian verbs, which are often followed by prepositions.
| Siamo entrati in aula. |
We went into the classroom. |
- As in English, Italian verbs can be followed by two prepositions.
| parlare a qualcuno di qualcosa |
to talk to someone about something |
- With some verbs the Italian preposition may not be the one you would expect. For example, to in English is not always a in Italian, di is not always translated by of and so forth. The most important ones of these are shown in the examples on the following pages.
- For more information on Verbs used with a preposition and the infinitive, see The Infinitive.
TipWhen you learn a new verb, check if there’s a preposition that goes with it, and learn that too.
1 Verbs followed by a
- a is used with the indirect object of verbs such as dire (meaning to say) and dare (meaning to give).
| dare qualcosa a qualcuno |
to give something to someone |
| dire qualcosa a qualcuno |
to say something to someone |
| mandare qualcosa a qualcuno |
to send something to someone |
| scrivere qualcosa a qualcuno |
to write something to someone |
| mostrare qualcosa a qualcuno |
to show something to someone |
TipIn English you can say to give someone something. In Italian you cannot leave out the preposition – you have to use a with the person who is the indirect object.
- Here are some verbs taking a in Italian when you might not expect it, since the English equivalent either does not have the preposition to or has no preposition at all:
| arrivare a (una città) |
to arrive at (a town) |
| avvicinarsi a qualcuno |
to approach someone |
| chiedere qualcosa a qualcuno |
to ask someone for something |
| far male a qualcuno |
to hurt someone |
| giocare a qualcosa |
to play something (game/sport) |
| insegnare qualcosa a qualcuno |
to teach somebody something |
| partecipare a qualcosa |
to take part in something |
| rispondere a qualcuno |
to answer someone |
| rivolgersi a qualcuno |
to ask someone |
| somigliare a qualcuno |
to look like someone |
| permettere a qualcuno di fare qualcosa |
to allow someone to do something |
| proibire a qualcuno di fare qualcosa |
to forbid someone to do something |
| rubare qualcosa a qualcuno |
to steal something from someone |
| ubbidire a qualcuno |
to obey someone |
| |
| Chiedi a Lidia come si chiama il suo cane. |
Ask Lidia what her dog’s called. |
| Quando arrivi a Londra? |
When do you arrive in London? |
| Parteciperai alla gara? |
Are you going to take part in the competition? |
| Non permette a Luca di uscire. |
She doesn’t allow Luca to go out. |
- For verbs such as piacere, mancare and rincrescere, see Verbal idioms on Verbal Idioms.
TipRemember that you often have to use a preposition with an Italian verb when there is no preposition in English.
2 Verbs followed by di
- Here are some verbs taking di in Italian when the English verb is not followed by of:
| accorgersi di qualcosa |
to realize something |
| aver bisogno di qualcosa |
to need something |
| aver voglia di qualcosa |
to want something |
| discutere di qualcosa |
to discuss something |
| fidarsi di qualcosa/qualcuno |
to trust something/someone |
| intendersi di qualcosa |
to know about something |
| interessarsi di qualcosa |
to be interested in something |
| lamentarsi di qualcosa |
to complain about something |
| ricordarsi di qualcosa/qualcuno |
to remember something/someone |
| ridere di qualcosa/qualcuno |
to laugh at something/someone |
| stufarsi di qualcosa/qualcuno |
to get fed up with something/someone |
| stupirsi di qualcosa |
to be amazed by something |
| trattare di qualcosa |
to be about something |
| vantarsi di qualcosa |
to boast about something |
| |
| Non mi fido di lui. |
I don’t trust him. |
| Ho bisogno di soldi. |
I need money. |
| Discutono spesso di politica. |
They often discuss politics. |
| Mi sono stufato di loro. |
I got fed up with them. |
3 Verbs followed by da
- Here are some verbs taking da in Italian when the English verb is not followed
by from:
| dipendere da qualcosa/qualcuno |
to depend on something/someone |
| giudicare da qualcosa |
to judge by something |
| scendere da qualcosa |
to get off something (bus, train, plane) |
| sporgersi da qualcosa |
to lean out of something |
| |
| Dipende dal tempo. |
It depends on the weather. |
4 Verbs that are followed by a preposition in English but not in Italian
- Although the English verb is followed by a preposition, you don’t use a preposition with the following Italian verbs:
| guardare qualcosa/qualcuno |
to look at something/someone |
| ascoltare qualcosa/qualcuno |
to listen to something/someone |
| cercare qualcosa/qualcuno |
to look for something/someone |
| chiedere qualcosa |
to ask for something |
| aspettare qualcosa/qualcuno |
to wait for something/someone |
| pagare qualcosa |
to pay for something |
| Guarda la sua faccia. |
Look at his face. |
| Mi stai ascoltando? |
Are you listening to me? |
| Sto cercando la chiave. |
I’m looking for my key. |
| Ha chiesto qualcosa da mangiare. |
He asked for something to eat. |
| Aspettami! |
Wait for me! |
| Ho già pagato il biglietto. |
I’ve already paid for my ticket. |