{"id":596,"date":"2011-02-05T08:09:35","date_gmt":"2011-02-05T08:09:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/italian\/?p=596"},"modified":"2011-02-05T08:09:35","modified_gmt":"2011-02-05T08:09:35","slug":"to","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/italian\/to\/","title":{"rendered":"‘To’"},"content":{"rendered":"

When you’re learning a language it seems that every answer gives birth to at least two new questions, and my recent blog ‘In’<\/strong> was no exception. <\/font>In order to deal with one of the most common questions about the Italian word ‘in’<\/strong> we need to have a look at the English word ‘to’. <\/font>‘To’, with the meaning of ‘to go somewhere’, has three main interpretations in Italian:<\/font><\/p>\n

1. <\/font>If we are talking about going to a country, a region, or a large Island (which is equivalent to a region) such as Sicilia, Sardegna, or Corsica, we use ‘in’<\/strong>:<\/font><\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
questo Aprile vado in<\/u> Spagna per due settimane<\/font><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
this April I’m going to<\/u> Spain for two weeks<\/font><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
l’anno scorso sono andata in<\/u> Irlanda a trovare degli amici<\/font><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
last year I went to<\/u> Ireland to visit some friends<\/font><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
domani devo andare in<\/u> Lombardia per un colloquio di lavoro<\/font><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
tomorrow I’ve got to go to<\/u> Lombardy for a job interview<\/font><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table><\/div>\n

2.<\/font> When we talk about going just about anywhere else we use ‘a’<\/strong>:<\/font><\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
domani vado a<\/u> Parma a trovare una vecchia amica<\/font><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
tomorrow I’m going to<\/u> Parma to visit an old friend<\/font><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
andiamo al<\/u> supermercato?<\/font><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
shall we go to the<\/u> supermarket?<\/font><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Luisa \u00e8 andata alla<\/u> macelleria<\/font><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Luisa has gone to the<\/u> butcher’s<\/font><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Claudio e Annalisa sono andati in vacanza a<\/u> Capri<\/font><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Claudio and Annalisa have gone on holiday to<\/u> Capri (a small Italian island)<\/font><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table><\/div>\n

N.B.<\/font> we combine ‘a’<\/strong> with the definite article il<\/strong>, lo<\/strong>, la<\/strong>, etc. Hence a<\/strong> (to) + la<\/strong> (the) becomes alla<\/strong> (to the), as in alla macelleria<\/strong> (to the butcher’s).<\/font><\/p>\n

Be aware that in some cases you may hear either ‘a’<\/strong> or ‘in’<\/strong><\/font><\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
andiamo alla<\/u> pizzeria stasera? \/ andiamo in<\/u> pizzeria stasera?<\/font><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
shall we go to<\/u> the pizzeria this evening?<\/font><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
vado alla<\/u> banca \/ vado in<\/u> banca<\/font><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
I’m going to<\/u> the bank<\/font><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table><\/div>\n

3.<\/font> When we talk about going to a person we use ‘da’<\/strong>:<\/font><\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
alle due devo andare da<\/u> Michele<\/font><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
I’ve got to go to<\/u> Michele’s (house) at two o’clock<\/font><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
domani mattina devo andare dal<\/u> dottore<\/font><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
tomorrow morning I’ve got to go to the<\/u> doctor<\/font><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
voglio andare dal<\/u> fruttivendolo a comprare delle mele<\/font><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
I want to go to the<\/u> greengrocer to buy some apples<\/font><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table><\/div>\n

N.B.<\/font> we combine ‘da’<\/strong> with the definite article il<\/strong>, lo<\/strong>, la<\/strong>, etc. e.g. da<\/strong> (to) + il<\/strong> (the) becomes dal<\/strong> (to the) as in dal dottore<\/strong> (to the doctor).<\/font><\/p>\n

I bet you’re wondering why we say ‘alla<\/u> macelleria’<\/strong> (to the butcher’s), but ‘dal<\/u> fruttivendolo’<\/strong>? Well la macelleria<\/strong> is the butcher’s shop so we use a<\/u><\/strong> because we are going to<\/u> the shop, but il fruttivendolo<\/strong> is the grocer, i.e. the person<\/u> who sells fruit and vegetables, hence we use da <\/strong>because we are going to a person.<\/font><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When you’re learning a language it seems that every answer gives birth to at least two new questions, and my recent blog ‘In’ was no exception. In order to deal with one of the most common questions about the Italian word ‘in’ we need to have a look at the English word ‘to’. ‘To’, with…<\/p>\n

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