Where Are You Going "to" in the Italian Language?

to

a, in, da

In English just two little letters –- to -- take you everywhere. You can go to church or school, to a shop or a movie, to your home or a friend’s, to a village, city, state, region, island, continent, even to the moon. In Italian, it’s not that simple.

Say you want to go to Italy. Forget “a,” even though it translates as “to.” When heading for a large land mass—a continent, country, or a very big island—you go “in” it, for instance: “Vado in Europa.” (I am going to Europe.) “Andiamo in Italia.” (We are going to Italy). “Vorrei andare in Sardegna.” (I want to go to Sardinia.) Once in Italy, you use “a” for going to Rome, Florence, Pisa, Naples, or other cities—unless you are going “to the city,” in which case you use “in città.” If you’re heading for “the village” (il paese), you say, “Vado in paese.”

You go a casa (to home) or a letto (to bed). But you must include the article when you go “to the” supermarket (al supermercato), the movie theatre (al cinema) or the park (al parco). It’s perfectly correct to go alla banca or in banca (both translate as "to the bank"). With words that end in ia, you go “in”-- in pizzeria, farmacia, salumeria or trattoria. However, if you specify a name, you switch to “a,” as in, “Vado alla pizzeria Tre Pini."  (I am going to the Three Pines Pizzeria.) On Sunday you may go in chiesa (to church) but alla Chiesa di Santa Maria Novella.

If you’re going to see a person rather just to a particular place, you  switch to “da” (translated in my dictionary as a truly all-purpose preposition: “from, by, to, at, for; like, as a; for the purpose of, because of”.) So I make my way da Cinzia (to Cinzia’s) for dinner or invite her to come da noi (to our house). If your tooth aches, you go dal dentista (to the dentist’s). If you get the flu, you get yourself al medico (to the doctor's).  

“A” pops up in many idiomatic expressions. If someone takes a liking to you, Italians say you “andare a genio” or “andare a fagiolo” (you go to his genius—or his bean). Something that’s selling like hot cakes is said to andare a ruba (go at a steal). If a plan falls through, it goes “all’aria” (to the air) or a monte (to the mountain). When you die, you go all aldila (to the hereafter). And, of course, the only way to cook pasta is  al dente (literally, to the tooth).

Words and Expressions

andare all’ inferno -- go to hell

venire al dunque –- to come to the point

andare a zonzo -- to wander about

andare a Canossa –- to eat crow or humble pie, a reference to Henry IV, who travelled to Canossa and stood outside for days awaiting the chance to make amends with Pope Gregory VII

Dianne Hales is the author of LA BELLA LINGUA: My  Love Affair with Italian, the World's Most Enchanting Language. 

Comments

[zingara]

this "to" concept has always been a bug-a-boo to me in learning italian. your explanations are clear & concise...now, if i can just memorize them & use them properly! thank you, diane. allora, devo andare al supermercato per fare la spesa. ciao, marianna ricci

[LindyLouMac in Italy]

I needed to revise this so great timing, thanks :)

[Debra Kolkka]

I find this one of the most difficult things about learning Italian. I have to just chip away at it a bit at a time. Thanks for the excellent explanation.

[David Bulfer]

This is a very difficult subject. How about °vado in tabaccheria° or °vado in banca° or °vado dal dottore.° Generally, there are rules, but this has been a huge challenge for me.