“Con” in Italian
As simple as it is, the Italian word con can be translated in English as “with”. In both languages, it is a preposition, and as with all prepositions, it shows the relationship between the words in a sentence.
Ieri sera sono andata a cena con Mariangela.
Last night I went out for dinner with Mariangela.
Con che macchina siete andati?
What car did you go with?
However, this word can be used in different contexts in Italian, which I will show below.
How to use the Italian “con”
Company
The main function of the Italian preposition con is to specify the company, connection, or relationship. This is the easiest translation and use, and it is perfectly translatable as “with”.
Siamo andati al cinema con Gianluca.
We went to the cinema with Gianluca.
Ho un appuntamento con l’avvocato.
I have an appointment with the lawyer.
Luigi si è sposato con una ragazza colombiana.
Luigi got married to a Colombian girl.
Be careful! The Italian verb sposarsi requires the preposition con!
Means or Mode
Another way you can use con is to talk about the means by which you do something or the way you do it, as you can see in the examples below:
Means
Ho fatto un succo di more con il frullatore.
I made blackberry juice with the blender.
L’abbiamo tagliato con il coltello.
We cut it with a knife.
Unlike English, this preposition is also used to introduce means of transport. While in English we go somewhere “by” a certain means, in Italian we go somewhere “with” that means.
Vado a lavoro con il treno.
I go to work by train.
Mode
Ha lavorato con impegno.
He worked with commitment.
L’ho fatto con piacere.
I did it with pleasure.
Reason and Cause
Sometimes, the preposition con can be used to describe the reason why something happened, or the cause of an event. For instance:
Con questa pioggia sarà impossibile arrivare.
With this rain it will be impossible to get there.
Con il suo aiuto siamo riusciti a finire il progetto in tempo.
With his help, we managed to finish the project on time.
As you can see, when it is used to introduce the cause of something, it takes on the meaning of “thanks to” or “because of”. In fact, you can also replace it with the Italian expressions grazie a, per colpa di, a causa di:
Grazie al suo aiuto siamo riusciti a finire il progetto in tempo.
Thanks to his help, we managed to finish the project on time.
With Time
In specific circumstances, the Italian preposition con can also be used to introduce expressions of time, such as:
Con la primavera sono arrivate le rondini.
The swallows arrived with the spring.
Con i primi freddi le strade si sono congelate.
With the first cold, the streets froze.
“Con” with Articles
As you might know already, most of Italian prepositions must combine with definite article and create the so called preposizioni articolate. The case of the preposition con is peculiar, because it can combine, but only with some articles.
Specifically, it happens with the articles il and i resulting in col and coi. However, unlike other prepositions that mandatorily require this to occur, the choice is personal.
I like to use these preposizioni articolate, but you do not have to! Therefore choose what you like the most:
Sono andata a scuola col bus. / Sono andata a scuola con il bus.
I went to school by bus.
