“Da” in Italian
Da is an Italian preposition that is mainly used to express source or origin. However, its use in Italian is very wide and might depend on the context, which is why I decided to dedicate an article on its use with places only.
Learn the difference between da and per in Italian.
Remember that most prepositions combine with definite articles and become preposizioni articolate. The same happens with da + article, as you can see below:
| il | lo | l’ | la | i | gli | le | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| da | dal | dallo | dall’ | dalla | dai | dagli | dalle |
How to use “da”
Motion From Somewhere
The most common use of da is to indicate the origin of a motion. When it is used this way, it can easily be translated in English as “from”. In this context, it is often combined with verbs like venire (to come), arrivare (to arrive), or partire (to leave).
For instance:
Questo treno viene da Roma.
This train comes from Rome.
Marco è appena arrivato dalla Francia.
Marco just arrived from France.
L’autobus parte da Firenze e arriva a Milano.
The bus departs from Florence and arrives to Milan.
Remember that, when you want to say the destination of a movement, as in the third sentence above, you have to use the preposition a. Pay attention to the distinction between a and in!
Origin
Similarly, da is used to say where you are or come from, to convey the meaning of provenance. It is typically combined with the verb venire (to come) and often used as a preposizione articolata with names of continents and countries.
Io vengo dalla Polonia, e tu?
I come from Poland, and you?
Verónica viene dall’Ecuador.
Verónica comes from Ecuador.
Noi veniamo da Ginevra.
We come from Geneva.
Motion towards Somebody
If you are talking about going to someone’s place or business, you need to use the preposition da to express movement towards. What I tell my students is that, typically, you should use either a or in, but if you are going somewhere and there is a person there, then you use da.
Luca sta andando da Giovanni.
Luca is going to Giovanni’s.
Ieri sono andata dal dentista.
Yesterday I went to the dentist.
State in Place
Just like we can use da to express motion towards someone, we can use it to express state in someone’s place, as in the examples below:
Sono dal dentista, tu dove sei?
I am at the dentist’s, where are you?
Domani mangeremo dai miei genitori.
Tomorrow we’ll eat at my parents.
Settimana scorsa siamo stati tre giorni da Francesca.
Last week we stayed at Francesca’s for three days.
