8
Contractions + Combinations
You have already seen that several common prepositions combine with the definite article to form one word. Examine the following combinations of a (to, at) with the definite article. (Unit 2, VII, for forms of the definite article.)
al = a + il ai = a + i
allo = a + lo agli = a + gli
all’ = a + l’ alle = a + le
alla = a + la
The prepositions da, di, in, and su combine with the various forms of the definite article in much the same way as a does. Study the following table:
| il | i | lo | gli | la | le | l’ | |
| a (to, at)
da (from) di (of) in (in) su (on) con (with) |
al
dal del nel sul col |
ai
dai dei nei sui coi |
allo
dallo dello nello sullo (collo) |
agli
dagli degli negli sugli (cogli) |
alla dalla della nella sulla (colla) |
alle
dalle delle nelle sulle (colle) |
all’
dall’ dell’ nell’ sull’ (coll’) |
All but the first two contracted forms of con (with) are now rare. In older texts, per (for, through) may be found in contracted forms (pel, pei, etc.), but it is not used in this way in modern Italian.
VOCABULARY
| amico friend |
anima soul |
cieco blind |
come like, as, how |
| opera work; lyric opera |
ospedale (m.) hospital |
proprio one’s own (here: his own) |
scaffale (m.) shelf |
| speranza hope |
tavola table |
uomo (pl., uomini) man |