Prepositions
The standard list of It. "simple prepositions" is "di, a, da, in, con, su, per, tra, fra". The nearest Eng. counterparts are, respectively, "of, at/to, from, in, with, on, for/by, among/between" - the last two have the same meaning and uses. The reasons why we cannot establish equivalences between the prepositions in the two languages are explained here 
and here
In both languages there adverbs or other expressions that can be used as prepositions - for instance: "vicino a, davanti, dietro, sopra, contro, oltre"... ( 
near, in front of, behind, over/above, against, beyond...)
A typical feature of It. is that some "preposizioni semplici" can merge with "articoli determinativi" (definite articles) producing "preposizioni articolate" as in "Osteria del Vecchio Asilo" ( Restaurant of the Old Kindergarten). Here is the table of preposizioni articolate:
|
|
il |
lo |
la |
i |
gli |
le |
l’ |
|
di |
del |
dello |
della |
dei |
degli |
delle |
dell’ |
|
a |
al |
allo |
alla |
ai |
agli |
alle |
all’ |
|
da |
dal |
dallo |
dalla |
dai |
dagli |
dalle |
dall’ |
|
in |
nel |
nello |
nella |
nei |
negli |
nelle |
nell’ |
|
su |
sul |
sullo |
sulla |
sui |
sugli |
sulle |
sull’ |
|
con |
col |
? collo |
? colla |
coi |
? cogli |
? colle |
coll’ |
Remarks
The "articled" preposition preceded by ? are used mostly in informal speaking. In formal speaking and in writing the full forms ("con gli" etc.) are preferred.
The prepositions that are not listed in the table ("per, tra, fra") never combine with articles.
Notice that "di" uses the combinatory form "de-" and "in" uses the combinatory form "ne-".
A few examples:
"Santa Croce sull'Arno" ( a Tuscan town named after the Holy Cross and on the banks of the River Arno)
"Il Signore degli Anelli" ( Lord of the Rings)
"Il Sergente nella Neve" ( The Sergeant in the Snow)
"Giocare all'aperto" ( to play in the open air - i.e. outdoors)
"Dagli Appennini alle Ande" ( From the Apennines to the Andes)
"La principessa sul pisello" ( The princess on the pea)