Formal Prepositions of Means
When drafting grant applications, funding proposals, or other formal documents, you frequently need to explain how a goal will be achieved or how funds will be delivered. Instead of the everyday con (with), formal Italian prefers specific prepositions of means and mediation.
Tramite
Tramite translates closely to "through" or "by means of." It is ideal for expressing that an objective is reached via an intermediary, such as a person, an institution (l'ente), or a partnership (il partenariato).
| We obtained the funding through the institution. | Abbiamo ottenuto il finanziamento tramite l'ente. |
| How would one achieve this objective through the partnership? | Come si conseguirebbe questo obiettivo tramite il partenariato? |
Mediante
Mediante also means "by means of." It carries a slightly more instrumental or procedural tone than tramite, making it perfect for describing the exact mechanism used to disburse a grant (erogare la sovvenzione) or implement a project.
| The institution disbursed the grant by means of the payment. | L'ente ha erogato la sovvenzione mediante il pagamento. |
| One implements the project by means of the fund. | Si implementa il progetto mediante il fondo. |
Attraverso
You may already know attraverso as a spatial preposition meaning "across" or "through" (like walking through a room). In formal and academic writing, it is widely used figuratively to mean "through a process" or "by way of."
| Through a partnership, we would achieve better results. | Attraverso un partenariato, conseguiremmo risultati migliori. |
| They had already implemented something new through the funding. | Avevano già implementato qualcosa di nuovo attraverso il finanziamento. |
Formulating Professional Proposals
These three prepositions—tramite, mediante, and attraverso—are largely interchangeable in bureaucratic writing. Pairing them with formal verbs like conseguire (to achieve) and erogare (to disburse) instantly elevates your Italian to a professional standard.
| The scientist had achieved the objective by means of the institution. | Lo scienziato aveva conseguito l'obiettivo mediante l'ente. |
| We would disburse the funding through the association. | Erogheremmo il finanziamento attraverso l'associazione. |
| One disburses the grants through the committee. | Si erogano le sovvenzioni tramite il comitato. |
