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3 Unexpected Uses for the Preposition “Di” in Italian

June 17, 2015 By Cher 6 Comments

Prepositions are strange.

Let me explain.

The ones we use in English have the semblance of Italian equivalents, but they’re not actually used in the same way.

Each preposition in Italian kind of plays its own tune and requires attachment to certain verbs, phrases, or just meanings in general.

In this mini-series, I want to highlight unexpected uses of the three prepositions “di”, “da”, and “in”.

Let’s start with “di”.

IMG_3069

First of all, you should know that “di” could mean be defined in these ways in English:

— Of
— From
— About
— By
— Than

1.) Is it “DI mattino” or “IN mattino”?

La notte scorsa sono stata in discoteca fino alle 3 DEL mattino.

In English, we would say “Last night I was at the club until three IN the morning.”

But in Italian, they’re literally saying “Last night I was in the club until three OF the morning.”

This is a really common construction in Italian when it comes to time.

In Italian, they say:

— Di mattina/mattino – In the morning

CPF: You can also say “al mattino” in different contexts.

— Di notte – At night
— Di sera – In the evening
— Di pomeriggio – In the afternoon

2.) Is it “qualcosa dolce” or “qualcosa DI dolce”?

Vorrei mangiare qualcosa DI dolce.

In English, we would translate this as “I would like to eat something sweet”.

However, we see that “di” comes after “qualcosa” and before “dolce” making the literal sentence “I would like something OF sweet to eat”.

The grammar books say that “di” goes between them because it’s talking about the quality of something.

I don’t know if that even helps me make sense of why, so this is an instance where I ignore grammar books.

You can do that, too.

Here are some other instances where this happens:

— Amici/amiche di vecchia data – Old friends (Literally: Friends of old date)
— Una persona di valore – A valued person (Literally: A person of value)

3.) Is it “Esco di casa” or “Esco la mia casa”? 

Esco DI casa.

In English, we would say “I’m leaving my house”, but in Italian, it literally sounds like “I’m leaving from home”.

You could also say “Esco DA casa”.

Esempi:

— Esco di casa alle 8 del mattino. – I’m leaving home at eight in the morning.
— Esco da casa alle 7 e passo a prenderti. – I’ll leave from home at seven and I’ll come pick you up.

Interestingly enough, you wouldn’t be able to use “da” for leaving school or work.

It would need to be:

— Esco da scuola. – I’m leaving (from) school.
— Esco dal lavoro. – I’m leaving (from) work.

CPF: You can also say “Esco da lavoro”. 

And all of this talk of “da” leads us to your next preposition in the mini-series on unexpected uses.

Click here to read 3 Unexpected Uses for the Preposition “Da” in Italian.

Have questions or comments? Write them below!

Filed Under: Expressions, Grammar, Italian Tagged With: 3 unexpected uses for the preposition di in italian, cher hale, italian, Prepositions, The Iceberg Project

About Cher

Cher is the founder of The Iceberg Project and a passionate learner of the Italian, Mandarin and Spanish languages. In a little town called Vegas, you can find her searching the Internet for Doctor Who and Parks & Rec memes, drinking bubble tea, or talking about how much she loves grammar.

« 4 Unexpected Ways to Use the Italian Prepositions “di”, “da”, and “in”
How to Cultivate the Right Mindset to Learn Italian: An Interview with Kevin Morehouse »

Comments

  1. Marilyn J August says

    June 24, 2015 at 8:34 pm

    From the example, “Esco di casa alle 8 del mattino.” Could this be …alle 8 di mattina? When do you use “mattino” and “mattina”?
    Grazie per delle belle lezioni!

    Reply
    • cher says

      June 27, 2015 at 10:09 am

      Ciao Marilyn! I wish there were a more straightforward answer, but unfortunately this tiny question has quite a long answer. Here are the basics though. You use “mattina”, the feminine & singular form, when talking about specific time, like “stamattina”. You also use it when talking about with things you usually do, like “Studio l’italiano tutte le mattine”. You would use “mattino”, the masculine singular, with idiomatic expressions, so ones that are fixed. Otherwise the forms are usually interchangeable. Luckily if you use the wrong one, it isn’t a huge deal. Hope that helps! ;]

      Reply
  2. Charlie DeWeese says

    June 28, 2015 at 8:08 am

    Hi Cher:

    “Interestingly enough, you wouldn’t be able to use “da” for leaving school or work.

    It would need to be:

    — Esco da scuola. – I’m leaving (from) school.
    — Esco dal lavoro. – I’m leaving (from) work.”

    So which is right, that you wouldn’t use “esco da scuola” or that you would?

    Reply
  3. Beatrice says

    April 21, 2017 at 4:06 pm

    Quello che e’ successo a il lezione “proprio”?

    Reply
    • RachelRachel says

      June 1, 2017 at 7:01 am

      Eccolo!
      http://icebergproject.co/italian/2016/12/3-main-ways-to-use-the-word-proprio-in-italian/

      Reply
  4. Cinzia says

    March 23, 2018 at 9:00 am

    I think she meant to say you couldn’t use it with “di”

    Reply

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