Learn some of the differences between the prepositions in and a
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Intro |
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| Michael: What's the difference between the prepositions in and a? |
| Ofelia: And how do I know which one to use? |
| Michael: At ItalianPod101.com, we hear these questions often. Let's consider the following situation: Ben Lee and one of his classmates, Federica Fontana, plan to travel around Europe, but they'd like to take different routes. They decide to meet half-way, and then travel back together. Ben Lee suggests, |
| "Let's meet in Spain." |
| Ben Lee: Incontriamoci in Spagna. |
| Dialogue |
| Ben Lee: Incontriamoci in Spagna. |
| Federica Fontana: Incontriamoci a Barcellona. |
| Michael: Once more with the English translation. |
| Ben Lee: Incontriamoci in Spagna. |
| Michael: "Let's meet in Spain." |
| Federica Fontana: Incontriamoci a Barcellona. |
| Michael: "Let's meet in Barcelona." |
Lesson focus |
| Michael: Many students have noticed that the prepositions |
| Ofelia: in |
| Michael: and |
| Ofelia: a |
| Michael: have multiple functions and meanings, and sometimes it's not easy to choose the right one. In some cases, both can be translated as "in," "at" or "to" in English, but they're not interchangeable in Italian. Let's see the difference. |
| Ofelia: a |
| Michael: can indicate the location of something or someone, or movement towards a place. It is usually used before the name of a city, town, or small island. The preposition |
| Ofelia: in |
| Michael: also indicates the location of something or someone, or movement towards a place. But it's usually used in front of a continent, state, nation, region, or large island's name. It can also be paired with some nouns that represent shop types, such as the drugstore, or the newsstand, as well as with nouns that represent Italian streets and squares. |
| [Recall 1] |
| Michael: Let's take a closer look at the dialogue. |
| Do you remember how Ben Lee said, "Let's meet in Spain"? |
| (pause 4 seconds) |
| Ofelia as @hero-son: Incontriamoci in Spagna. |
| Michael: Here, Ben uses the preposition |
| Ofelia: in |
| Michael: because he's referring to a country. |
| [Recall 2] |
| Michael: Now let's take a look at the second sentence. |
| Do you remember how Federica Fontana says, "Let's meet in Barcelona"? |
| (pause 4 seconds) |
| Ofelia as @college-friendf: Incontriamoci a Barcellona. |
| Michael: Unlike before, Federica uses the preposition |
| Ofelia: a |
| Michael: because she's referring to a city. |
| [Summary] |
| Michael: Now let's look at some examples. Our first example is |
| Ofelia: Abito a New York. |
| Michael: "I live in New York." This uses the preposition |
| Ofelia: a |
| Michael: because the statement refers to a city. |
| Ofelia: Abito a New York. |
| Michael: The next example is |
| Ofelia: Abito in Italia. |
| Michael: "I live in Italy." This uses the preposition |
| Ofelia: in |
| Michael: because the statement refers to a country. |
| Ofelia: Abito in Italia. |
| Expansion/Contrast |
| Michael: Many English speakers make mistakes when they translate sentences that express movement toward a place, such as "I go to school," in Italian. |
| Michael: That's because in Italian, the English preposition "to" can be translated as both in and a. |
| Michael: For example, take the sentence "I go to school" in Italian, |
| Ofelia: Vado a scuola. |
| Michael: This uses the preposition |
| Ofelia: a. |
| Michael: There isn't a rule that we can mention to explain this. It's just a convention. |
| Ofelia: Vado a scuola. |
| Michael: Next, look at the Italian sentence for "I go to the drugstore." |
| Ofelia: Vado in farmacia. |
| Michael: This uses the preposition |
| Ofelia: in |
| Michael: because a drugstore is a type of shop. |
| Ofelia: Vado in farmacia. |
| Michael: There are a few rules you can keep in mind, but there are also exceptions and special cases, so the best way to remember is simply through practice. |
| Practice Section |
| Michael: Let's review. Respond to the prompts by speaking aloud. Then repeat after the native speaker, focusing on pronunciation. |
| Do you remember how Ben Lee said, "Let's meet in Spain"? |
| [Beep. Pause 5 seconds.] |
| Ofelia as Ben Lee: Incontriamoci in Spagna. |
| Michael: Listen again and repeat. |
| Ofelia as Ben Lee: Incontriamoci in Spagna. |
| [Beep. Pause 5 seconds.] |
| Ofelia as Ben Lee: Incontriamoci in Spagna. |
| Michael: And do you remember how Federica Fontana says, "Let's meet in Barcelona"? |
| [Beep. Pause 5 seconds.] |
| Ofelia as Federica Fontana: Incontriamoci a Barcellona. |
| Michael: Listen again and repeat. |
| Ofelia as Federica Fontana: Incontriamoci a Barcellona. |
| [Beep. Pause 5 seconds.] |
| Ofelia as Federica Fontana: Incontriamoci a Barcellona. |
Outro |
| Michael: Do you have any more questions? We're here to answer them! |
| Ofelia: A presto! |
| Michael: See you soon! |
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