Breakdown of Oggi arrivano in Giappone.
oggi
today
in
in / made of (material)
arrivare
to arrive
il Giappone
Japan
Questions & Answers about Oggi arrivano in Giappone.
Why do we use in here instead of a?
In Italian, we use the preposition in for countries, regions, and large islands, both for location and destination. We use a for cities and towns (like a Roma). Since Giappone is a country, it takes in.
If the sentence meant 'They are going TO Japan', would it still use in?
Yes! The preposition in covers both 'in' and 'to' when talking about countries. For example, you say Sono in Giappone (They are in Japan) and Vanno in Giappone (They go to Japan).
Don't countries usually need 'the' before them in Italian? Why isn't it nel Giappone?
Normally, countries do take the definite article, like il Giappone. However, a special rule is that when you use the simple preposition in with a country to say you are going there or are located there, you drop the article.
Where is the word for 'they' in this sentence?
Italian often drops the subject pronoun (like loro for 'they') because the verb ending already tells us who is doing the action. The verb arrivano ends in -ano, which specifically means 'they arrive'.