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Combining Prepositions With Articles – Part 3. Posted by on Nov 30, 2016 in Grammar

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 ‘da‘ (from, to, by, since).

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 ‘da‘ = dal

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 da= dallo or dall’

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

i = masculine plural, e.g. i banchi, i negozi. Combined with ‘da‘ = dai

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

le = feminine plural, e.g. le scrivanie, le piscine, le erboristerie. Combined with ‘da‘ = dalle

Exercise

crookes_tube_xray_experiment-001

___ raggi X non risulta nessuna frattura. Taking an X-ray image with early Crookes tube apparatus, late 1800s. Public Domain

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

The engineer left the studio a moment ago
L’ingegnere è appena uscito ___ studio

Come on, remove that poster from the wall, it’s all faded!
Ma dai, stacca quel poster ___ muro, è tutto scolorito!

The doctor takes appointments from eight to half past ten, and from five to eight
Il dottore riceve ___ otto alle dieci e mezza, e ___ cinque alle otto

“Is the milk still good?”; “From the smell I’d say yes”
“E’ ancora buono il latte?”; “___ odore direi di sì”

Before dinner we’ll go by the Rossi’s to say hello
Prima di cena passiamo ___ Rossi a salutarli

This watch was given to me by uncle Luciano for my birthday
Questo orologio mi è stato regalato ___ zio Luciano per il mio compleanno

The burglars entered from the kitchen window
I ladri sono entrati ___ finestra della cucina

I haven’t seen Lucia since last summer
Non vedo Lucia ___ estate scorsa

Giovanni will come back from the United States next Monday
Giovanni tornerà ___ Stati Uniti lunedì prossimo

I’m so tired, I’ve been awake since dawn!
Che stanchezza, sono sveglia fin ___ alba!

I have to go to the lawyer first and then to the greengrocer
Devo andare prima ___ avvocato e poi ___ fruttivendolo

From the X rays no fractures can be seen
___ raggi X non risulta nessuna frattura

 

Click here to reveal the answers

The engineer left the studio a moment ago
L’ingegnere è appena uscito dallo studio

Come on, remove that poster from the wall, it’s all faded!
Ma dai, stacca quel poster dal muro, è tutto scolorito!

The doctor takes appointments from eight to half past ten, and from five to eight
Il dottore riceve dalle otto alle dieci e mezza, e dalle cinque alle otto

“Is the milk still good?”; “From the smell I’d say yes”
“E’ ancora buono il latte?”; “Dall’odore direi di sì”

Before dinner we’ll go by the Rossi’s to say hallo
Prima di cena passiamo dai Rossi a salutarli

This watch was given to me by uncle Luciano for my birthday
Questo orologio mi è stato regalato dallo zio Luciano per il mio compleanno

The burglars entered from the kitchen window
I ladri sono entrati dalla finestra della cucina

I haven’t seen Lucia since last summer
Non vedo Lucia dall’estate scorsa

Giovanni will come back from the United States next Monday
Giovanni tornerà dagli Stati Uniti lunedì prossimo

I’m so tired, I’ve been awake since dawn!
Che stanchezza, sono sveglia fin dall’alba!

I have to go to the lawyer first and then to the greengrocer
Devo andare prima dall’avvocato e poi dal fruttivendolo

From the X rays no fractures can be seen
Dai raggi X non risulta nessuna frattura

 

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.

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Comments:

  1. Arleen:

    Regarding: This watch was given to me by uncle Luciano for my birthday
    Questo orologio mi è stato regalato dallo zio Luciano per il mio compleanno

    I was taught that you didn’t need the article when speaking of a family member (unless it was in the plural) – so would dal zio Luciano also be correct?

    • Serena:

      @Arleen Salve Arleen!
      In Italian we don’t use the article before the a single member of the family when it’s preceeded by the possessive adjectve, e.g. ‘mio zio’, not ‘il mio zio’.
      In this case either forms are correct: ‘dallo zio Luciano’ and ‘da zio Luciano’
      Saluti da Serena

  2. Arleen:

    Oops! That should have been da zio, not dal zio – guess I need more coffee yet!

  3. Patricia:

    Great exercise. Dai Rossi – io ho detto da Rossi che sapeva immediatamente che fosse un errore.

  4. giovanni coletti:

    buonissimo!


Leave a comment to Arleen