Articulated prepositions with di and da (del, dal)

The prepositions "di" and "da"

In Italian, prepositions merge with definite articles to form single words called articulated prepositions.

• di generally means "of" and shows possession or description. Before merging, it changes its spelling to de-.
• da generally means "from" (for precise origins). It merges directly without changing its vowel.

Merging with singular articles: il and la

When a masculine noun uses the article il, the prepositions merge to become del and dal. With the feminine article la, they merge to form della and dalla. Notice how the l doubles for the feminine forms.

"Da" with people

While da usually expresses coming "from" a place, it is also the standard way to express going to, being at, or coming from a person's location (like a professional's office).

Merging with plural articles: i and le

For plural nouns, di and da merge with the masculine article i (forming dei and dai) and the feminine article le (forming delle and dalle).

Just as with singular forms, plural forms of da are used for locations associated with people (like someone's home).

Vowels and special masculine nouns

For singular nouns starting with a vowel, the article l' creates dell' and dall'. For special masculine nouns, the singular article lo forms dello and dallo, and the plural article gli forms degli and dagli.