Italian Improper Prepositions - Preposizioni Improprie

Italian Improper Prepositions - Preposizioni Improprie The Italian prepositions ​di, a, da, in, con, su, per, tra (fra), the so-called preposizioni semplici (simple prepositions), perform a variety of functions and are the most frequently used. However, these prepositions have a lesser-known counterpart ones with less variety, but that have a greater specificity of meaning. They’re called â€Å"improper prepositions.† And yes, if you’re wondering, there are â€Å"proper prepositions,† and we’ll talk about those soon. Why must you get to know these? Because they help you say things like â€Å"behind the house,† â€Å"during dinner,† or â€Å"except him.† Many grammarians define these forms as improper prepositions (preposizioni improprie), which are also (or have been in the past) adverbs, adjectives, or verbs. Here they are: Davanti - In front, across from, opposite fromDietro - Behind, afterContro - In front of, againstDopo - After, beyondPrima - First, in front ofInsieme - With, together with, along withSopra - On top of, upon, above, over Sotto - Below, beneathDentro - In, inside, withinFuori - BeyondLungo - During, throughout, along, alongsideVicino - NearbyLontano - Faraway, distantSecondo - On the basis of, according to, alongDurante - During, throughoutMediante - By, through, via, by means ofNonostante - In spite of, despiteRasente - Very near to, very close toSalvo - Save, except forEscluso - ExceptEccetto - ExceptTranne - Except So, which prepositions are proper? Grammarians define proper prepositions (preposizioni proprie) as those that have only a prepositional function, namely: di, a, da,in, con, su, per, tra (fra) (su also has an adverbial function, but routinely is considered one of the proper prepositions). The following are some examples of preposition-adverbs, preposition-adjectives, and preposition-verbs, highlighting their diverse functions. Preposition-Adverbs The largest group is that of the preposition-adverbs (davanti, dietro, contro, dopo, prima, insieme,sopra, sotto, dentro, fuori): Lho rivisto dopo molto tempo. - I saw him again after a long time. (prepositional function)Lho rivisto unaltra volta, dopo. - I saw him again after that. (adverbial function) Preposition-Adjectives Less numerous are preposition-adjectives (lungo, vicino, lontano, salvo, secondo): Camminare lungo la riva - To walk along the shore (prepositional function)Un lungo cammino - A long walk (adjectival function) Participles There are also some verbs, in the form of participles, that in contemporary Italian function almost exclusively as prepositions (durante, mediante, nonostante, rasente, escluso, eccetto): Durante la sua vita - During his lifetime (prepositional function)Vita natural durante - Lifetime (participial function) Among these preposition-verbs, a special case is that of tranne, from the imperative form of trarre (tranne traine). To determine whether a certain term is used as a preposition or has a different function, note that in the previous examples what characterizes and distinguishes the prepositions from other parts of speech is the fact that they establish a relationship between two words or two groups of words. Prepositions are special because they introduce a complement to the verb, the noun, or the entire sentence. If there is no complement, it is not a preposition. Some Italian improper prepositions can be combined with other prepositions (especially a and di) to form locuzioni preposizionali (prepositional phrases) such as: Vicino a - Near, next toAccanto a - Next to, besideDavanti a - In front ofDietro a - BehindPrima di - BeforeDopo di - AfterFuori di - Outside ofDentro di - Inside, withinInsieme con (or assieme a) - Together withLontano da - Away from Prepositions Nouns Many prepositional phrases result from the pairing of prepositions and nouns: In cima a - On top of, at the top ofIn capo a - Within, underIn mezzo a - In the middle of, amongNel mezzo di - In the middle of, in the midst ofIn base a - On the basis of, according toIn quanto a - As for, in terms ofIn confronto a - Compared to, in comparison toA fianco di - At the side of, on the side ofAl cospetto di - In the presence ofPer causa di - Because of, on grounds ofIn conseguenza di - As a result ofA forza di - Because of, through , by persisting thatPer mezzo di - By means of, by way ofPer opera di - ByA meno di - Less than, withoutAl pari di - As much as, in common withA dispetto di - In spite of, despiteA favore di - In favor ofPer conto di - On behalf ofIn cambio di - In exchange forAl fine di - For the purpose of, in order to Prepositional Phrases Prepositional phrases have the same function as prepositions, as shown by these examples: Lha ucciso per mezzo di un pugnale / Lha ucciso con un pugnale. - He killed him using a dagger / He killed him with a dagger.Lha fatto al fine di aiutarti / Lha fatto per aiutarti. - He did it in order to help you / He did it to help you. Attenta! Note, however, that prepositions and prepositional phrases are not always interchangeable: for example, either of the following phrases are valid: il ponte à ¨ costruito dagli operai (or da parte degli operai). But â€Å"la costruzione del ponte dagli operai† is grammatically incorrect, while â€Å"la costruzione del ponte da parte degli operai† is acceptable.