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The Preposition in
The Prepositions per, su, con, tra, and fra
Tutto/a/i/e, Ogni, Alcuni, andAlcune
Refined Uses of the Definite Article

The Prepositions per, su, con, tra, and fra by Ronald Glenn Wrigley

The Preposition per

The prepositions per, su, con, tra, and fra are a little more straightforward than their cousins a, da, di, and in.

The preposition per means “for” or “through” in English. It is used to indicate movement through a place or space.

Sono passati per Boston. They passed through Boston.

It is also used to express duration of time in the past.

Ho studiato per un'ora.	I studied for an hour.
Abbiamo guardato la televisione per dieci minuti.	We watched television for ten minutes.

The preposition per is also used to designate the recipient of an object.

Il regalo è per mio fratello. The gift is for my brother.

The Preposition <B>su</B></h2> <p>Another useful preposition to know is <B>su,</B> which means “on.” The use of this preposition is very similar to its use in English. It is used in Italian to indicate location or a topic of discussion. <B>Su</B> is also used after a few verbs.</p> <table width="100%" frame="all"> <h2> <tgroup cols="2"> <colspec colname="col1" colnum="1"/> <colspec colname="col2" colnum="2"/> <tbody> <tr> <td><p><B>La penna è sulla scrivania.</B></p></td> <td><p><B>The pen is on the desk.</B></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><B>è una conferenze su Dante.</B></p></td> <td><p><B>It is a conference on Dante.</B></p></td> </tr> </tbody> </tgroup> </table> <p><B>Table 9-11</B></p> <table width="100%" frame="all"> <tgroup cols="2"> <colspec colname="col1" colnum="1"/> <colspec colname="col2" colnum="2"/> <tbody> <tr> <td><p><B>Italian</B></p></td> <td><p><B>English</B></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><B>contare su</B></p></td> <td><p>to count on</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><B>giurare su</B></p></td> <td><p>to swear on</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><B>reflettere su</B></p></td> <td><p>to reflect on, to ponder</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><B>scommettere su</B></p></td> <td><p>to bet on</p></td> </tr> </tbody> </tgroup> </table> <title>The Preposition <B>con</B> </h2> <p>The Italian preposition <B>con</B> is very similar to the English word “with.”</p> <table width="100%" frame="all"> <h2> <tgroup cols="2"> <colspec colname="col1" colnum="1"/> <colspec colname="col2" colnum="2"/> <tbody> <tr> <td><p><B>Eugenio parla con un accento italiano.</B></p></td> <td><p><B>Eugenio speaks with an Italian accent.</B></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><B>Filippo è partito con la sua famiglia.</B></p></td> <td><p><B>Filippo left with his family.</B></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><B>Marcello è con Luciano.</B></p></td> <td><p><B>Marcello is with Luciano.</B></p></td> </tr> </tbody> </tgroup> </table> <title>The Prepositions <B>tra</B> and <B>fra</B></h2> <p>Finally, there are the prepositions <B>tra</B> and <B>fra</B>. They both mean “between” and can be used interchangeably in all cases. They can also be used to mean “within” when indicating a time in the future.</p> <table width="100%" frame="all"> <h2> <tgroup cols="2"> <colspec colname="col1" colnum="1"/> <colspec colname="col2" colnum="2"/> <tbody> <tr> <td><p><B>Il quaderno e tra i due libri.</B></p></td> <td><p><B>The notebook is between the two books.</B></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><B>Arriveremo fra dieci minuti.</B></p></td> <td><p><B>We will arrive (with)in ten minutes.</B></p></td> </tr> </tbody> </tgroup> </table> <title>Exercise 9-4</h2> <p><B>Underline the prepositions in the following sentences.</B></p> <table width="100%" frame="all"> <tgroup cols="2"> <colspec colname="col1" colnum="1"/> <colspec colname="col2" colnum="2"/> <tbody> <tr> <td><p><B>Ho dato delle rose a mia moglia.</B></p></td> <td><p><B>I gave some roses to my wife.</B></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><B>Partiamo da Boston.</B></p></td> <td><p><B>We are leaving from Boston.</B></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><B>Pensano di fare un viaggio.</B></p></td> <td><p><B>They are thinking about taking a trip.</B></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><B>Studio in biblioteca.</B></p></td> <td><p><B>I am studying in the library.</B></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><B>Lascio un messaggio per mia moglie.</B></p></td> <td><p><B>I am leaving a message for my wife.</B></p></td> </tr> </tbody> </tgroup> </table>  <div id="pagination"><ul><li class="prev"><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/learning-italian/prepositions/the-preposition-in.htm" title="The Preposition in">The Preposition in</a></li><li class="next"><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/learning-italian/prepositions/tuttoaie-ogni-alcuni-andalcune.htm" title="Tutto/a/i/e, Ogni, Alcuni, andAlcune">Tutto/a/i/e, Ogni, Alcuni, andAlcune</a> </li></ul></div></div> <div id="coda"> <div id="rel"><div class="n5">Related Articles</div><ul> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/learning-italian/prepositions/the-prepositions-per-su-con-tra-and-fra.htm" zT="18/1YL/Zn"> The Prepositions per, su, con, 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