In today’s exercise, we’re going to focus on combining the Italian definite articles il, lo, la, i, gli, and le (the) with the preposition ‘a‘ (to, at, from, on, with, in the style of).

We’ll begin by reviewing how we construct these preposizioni articolate (preposition/article combinations). This will be followed by an exercise that requires you to fill in the blanks in the Italian text. You’ll find the answers hidden at the end of the blog.

il = masculine singular, e.g. il banco, il negozio. Combined with ‘a‘ = al

lo = masculine singular, used before ‘s’ plus a consonant, ‘z’, or a vowel, e.g. lo stadio, lo zoo. N.B. lo becomes l’ before a vowel, e.g. l’albergo. Combined with ‘a‘ = allo or all’

la = feminine singular, e.g. la scrivania, la piscina. Combined with ‘a‘ = alla. N.B. la becomes l’ before a vowel, e.g. l’erboristeria. Combined with ‘a‘ = all‘

i = masculine plural, e.g. i banchi, i negozi. Combined with ‘a‘ = ai

gli = masculine plural, used before ‘s’ plus a consonant, ‘z’, or a vowel e.g. gli stadi, gli zoo, gli alberghi. Combined with ‘a‘ = agli

le = feminine plural, e.g. le scrivanie, le piscine, le erboristerie. Combined with ‘a‘ = alle

Exercise

Now fill in the gap in the Italian sentences with the correct preposizione articolata:

I accidently kicked the door post and hurt my anckle
Ho involontariamente dato un calcio ___ stipite della porta e mi sono fatto male ___ caviglia

My brothers used to enjoy pulling the tails off the lizards!
I miei fratelli si divertivano a staccare la coda ___ lucertole!

Did you give the food to the rabbits?
Hai dato da mangiare ___ conigli?

I’ll have tenderloin with green pepper
Io prendo il filetto ___ pepe verde

They’re broadcasting the Four Seasons by Vivaldi on the radio
___ radio stanno trasmettendo Le Quattro Stagioni di Vivaldi

Uncle Luciano likes Spaghetti with oil, garlic and chilli
___ zio Luciano piacciono gli spaghetti ___ olio, aglio e peperoncino

“Your father is a real old style gentleman” Rita told me (in THIS story)
“Tuo padre è un vero gentiluomo ___ antica” mi ha detto Rita

Watch out for the scorpions and vipers!
Stai attento ___ scorpioni e ___ vipere!

They’ve put the nets on the ground around the olive trees for the olive harvest
Hanno messo le reti per terra intorno ___ ulivi per la raccolta delle olive

“I will win tomorrow at dawn!” sings Calaf in the opera Turandot
“Domani ___ alba vincerò!” canta Calaf nella Turandot

I have to be at the station at eight o’clock tomorrow morning
Domani mattina devo essere ___ stazione ___ otto

I went to the bank first, then to the wine merchants
Sono andato per prima ___ banca, poi ___ enoteca

 

Click here to reveal the answers

I accidentally kicked the door post and hurt my ankle
Ho involontariamente dato un calcio allo stipite della porta e mi sono fatto male alla caviglia

My brothers used to enjoy pulling the tails off the lizards!
I miei fratelli si divertivano a staccare la coda alle lucertole!

Did you give the food to the rabbits?
Hai dato da mangiare ai conigli?

I’ll have tenderloin with green pepper
Io prendo il filetto al pepe verde

They’re broadcasting the Four Seasons by Vivaldi on the radio
Alla radio stanno trasmettendo Le Quattro Stagioni di Vivaldi

Uncle Luciano likes Spaghetti with oil, garlic and chilli
Allo zio Luciano piacciono gli spaghetti all’olio, aglio e peperoncino

“Your father is a real oldstyle gentleman” Rita told me (in THIS story)
“Tuo padre è un vero gentiluomo all’antica” mi ha detto Rita

Watch out for the scorpions and vipers!
Stai attento agli scorpioni e alle vipere!

They’ve put the nets on the ground around the olive trees for the olive harvest
Hanno messo le reti per terra intorno agli ulivi per la raccolta delle olive

“I will win tomorrow at dawn!” sings Calaf in the opera Turandot
“Domani all’alba vincerò!” canta Calaf nella Turandot

I have to be at the station at eight o’clock tomorrow morning
Domani mattina devo essere alla stazione alle otto

I went to the bank first, then to the wine merchants
Sono andato per prima alla banca, poi all’enoteca

 

Any questions? Feel free to leave a comment.

P.S. If you’re browser or app doesn’t allow you to see the answers let me know and I’ll post them in the comments section.