Breakdown of La libreria è vicino alla banca.
essere
to be
a
to / at
la banca
the bank
la libreria
the bookstore
vicino
near / close
Questions & Answers about La libreria è vicino alla banca.
Why does this sentence use alla instead of just a?
The preposition vicino a means 'near'. In Italian, you almost always need the definite article (the word for 'the') before a specific noun like banca. Because banca is feminine and uses the article la, the preposition a merges with la to become the combined word alla.
Since libreria and banca are both feminine words, why is it vicino and not vicina?
In the phrase vicino a, the word vicino is acting as an adverb of place, and adverbs never change their endings. It does not matter if the places you are talking about are masculine, feminine, singular, or plural, the phrase will always be vicino a. It only changes endings when used as a descriptive adjective, like in una città vicina (a nearby city).
Wait, doesn't libreria mean 'library'?
It looks very similar, but libreria is a 'false friend'. It actually translates to 'bookstore' or 'bookshop'. If you want to talk about a library where you borrow books, the Italian word is biblioteca.
Can I drop the a and just say vicino la banca?
While you might occasionally hear native speakers drop the a in casual, everyday speech, standard Italian grammar requires the preposition a after vicino. As a learner, you should always practice the correct form: vicino alla banca.
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