Italian preposition "di" (of, from,...)
Exercises
The preposition di (of) has a lot of uses in Italian
Lesson Outline
Hide- 1.Meanings
- 1.1.Possession
- 1.2.Origin
- 1.3.Contents
- 1.4.Topics
- 1.5.Materials or ingredients
- 1.6.Cause or reason
- 1.7.Measure or quantity
- 1.8.Part of a group
- 1.9.Time expressions (parts of the day)
- 1.10.Comparisons
- 2.Typical expressions
Meanings
Possession
When di indicates possession, it translates as of or as the Saxon genitive.
| Italian | English |
|---|---|
| La macchina di Giancarlo | Giancarlo's car |
| Le strade di Firenze | The streets of Florence |
Origin
When di indicates an origin, it translates as from or of.
| Italian | English |
|---|---|
| Essere di Venezia | To be from Venice |
| I vini d'Italia | The wines of Italy |
Contents
When di specifies the contents of something, it translates as of.
| Italian | English |
|---|---|
| Un bicchiere di vino | A glass of wine |
| Una scatola di cioccolatini | A box of chocolates |
Topics
When di indicates a topic, it usually translates as about.
| Italian | English |
|---|---|
| Parlare di calcio | To speak about soccer |
| Un libro di francese | A book about French (a French book) |
Materials or ingredients
When di indicates a material or an ingredient, it doesn't translate and it is not included in the English sentence.
In Italian the noun or the adjective indicating the material or the ingredient follows the preposition whereas in English it precedes the noun it refer to.
| Italian | English |
|---|---|
| Una casa di mattoni | A brick house |
| Una torta di cioccolato | A chocolate cake |
Cause or reason
When di indicates a cause or reason, it translates as of.
| Italian | English |
|---|---|
| Morire di sete | To die of thirsty |
| Essere stufo di ripetere lo stesso concetto | To be tired of repeating the same concept |
Measure or quantity
When di indicates a measure or a quantity, it doesn't translate and it is not included in the sentence.
The noun and the adjective indicating the measure or the quantity precede the noun they refer to.
| Italian | English |
|---|---|
| Una corsa di dieci chilometri | A ten-kilometer race |
| Un pacco di due chili | A two-kilogram package |
Part of a group
When di indicates a part of a group, it translates as of.
| Italian | English |
|---|---|
| Alcuni di voi cantano bene | Some of you sing well |
| Alcune di loro sono saggi | Some of them are wise |
Time expressions (parts of the day)
When di indicates time expressions, it usually translates as in or during (+ the).
| Italian | English |
|---|---|
| Di mattina | In / During the day |
| Di pomeriggio | In / During the afternoon |
| Di sera | In / During the evening |
Be careful! Di notte → At night
Comparisons
When di is used in comparison forms, it usually translates as than, of or in.
| Italian | English |
|---|---|
| Firenze è più piccola di Roma | Florence is smaller than Rome |
| La Russia è lo Stato più grande del mondo | Russia is the biggest country in the world |
Typical expressions
In the following table you can find a list of typical Italian expressions that are introduced by the preposition "di".
| Italian | English |
|---|---|
| d'(di) accordo con | in agreement with |
| di bene in meglio | better and better |
| di cattivo umore | in a bad mood |
| di male in peggio | from bad to worse |
| di nascosto | secretly |
| di nuovo | again |
| di solito | usually |
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