contractions

Articulated Prepositions in Italian (Preposizioni Articolate)

In Italian, when certain simple prepositions are followed by a definite article (the), they must fuse together to form a single word. These are called articulated prepositions. This fusion is mandatory for the prepositions di, a, da, in, and su.

1. How they are formed

The form of the articulated preposition depends on the gender (masculine/feminine) and number (singular/plural) of the noun, as well as the first letter of the following word. You essentially take the preposition and add the ending of the definite article.

Basic Patterns:

• di (of) becomes del, dello, dell', della, dei, degli, delle
• a (to/at) becomes al, allo, all', alla, ai, agli, alle
• da (from/by) becomes dal, dallo, dall', dalla, dai, dagli, dalle
• in (in) changes its stem to "ne" and becomes nel, nello, nell', nella, nei, negli, nelle
• su (on) becomes sul, sullo, sull', sulla, sui, sugli, sulle

2. Examples of usage

The rules for which article to use (e.g., il vs lo) are the same as for standard definite articles.

• Possession (di): Il libro del ragazzo (The boy's book / The book of the boy).
• Destination (a): Vado allo stadio (I am going to the stadium).
• Origin (da): Vengo dall'albergo (I am coming from the hotel).
• Location (in): Le chiavi sono nella borsa (The keys are in the bag).
• Position (su): Il gatto è sui divani (The cat is on the sofas).

3. The case of "con"

The preposition con (with) behaves slightly differently. While it can fuse with il to become col and with i to become coi, it is also perfectly correct (and very common in formal writing) to keep them separate: con il or con i. For all other articles (la, lo, le, gli), they always remain separate.

• Example: Esco col mio amico / con il mio amico (I am going out with my friend).

Mastering these forms is essential for Italian syntax as they ensure the natural flow of the language.