Breakdown of Vanno in Francia, a Parigi.
in
in / made of (material)
andare
to go / to be fine / to work out
a
to / at
la Francia
France
Parigi
Paris
Questions & Answers about Vanno in Francia, a Parigi.
Why does this sentence use in for France but a for Paris, when both translate to 'to'?
In Italian, the preposition you use for a destination depends on the type of place. You must use in for countries, regions, and continents (like in Francia or in Italia). You must use a for cities and towns (like a Parigi or a Roma).
Wait, don't in and a mean 'in' or 'at'? How do they mean 'to' here?
You are exactly right! In Italian, you use the exact same prepositions for going to a place as you do for being located in that place. Because vanno means 'they go', we know from the context that they are moving to France and Paris. If the sentence was Vivono in Francia, a Parigi (They live in France, in Paris), the prepositions would stay exactly the same.
How do we know it means 'They are going' if the word loro (they) isn't in the sentence?
I've seen France written as la Francia. Why is the la missing here?
Usually, countries do have 'the' in front of them in Italian. However, when you use the preposition in with a singular feminine country (like Francia, Italia, or Spagna), you drop the word for 'the' (la). So it becomes just in Francia.
Learn Vanno in Francia, a Parigi and more in Italian
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free