A2 · The little words
da — the preposition with no counterpart
From, since, at somebody's, and for — in one word.
Origin: Vengo da Roma, Torno dal lavoro.
Duration, with the <b>present</b>: Abito qui da tre anni, « I have been living here for three years ». English marks the running stretch with a perfect and Italian marks it with a plain present.
At and to a person's: Sono da Marco, Vado dal medico. English does this with an apostrophe — at Marco's, to the doctor's — and here it is a preposition.
Purpose or property: una tazza da caffè (a coffee cup), occhiali da sole (sunglasses), qualcosa da mangiare (something to eat).
And after an age or a state: da bambino, « as a child ».
Not to be confused with di, which names possession and content: una tazza di caffè is a cup of coffee, una tazza da caffè is a coffee cup. English marks that difference with word order alone.
Die Form
| I come from Rome | vengo da Roma |
| for three years | da tre anni |
| I am going to the doctor's | vado dal medico |
| I am at Marco's | sono da Marco |
| sunglasses | occhiali da sole |
| as a child | da bambino |
Die Regeln im Einzelnen
After da for a duration the present tense stands.
Studio italiano da due anni.I have been learning Italian for two years.
da stands before people, where English uses an apostrophe.
Stasera ceniamo da mia sorella.This evening we are having dinner at my sister's.
da names the purpose, di the content.
Una tazza da tè con una tazza di tè.A teacup with a cup of tea in it.
After qualcosa and niente comes da plus the infinitive.
Vorrei qualcosa da bere.I would like something to drink.
Woran man es erkennt
- da
- dal
- dalla
- da bambino
Beispielsätze
Lavoro qui da sei mesi.I have been working here for six months.
Devo andare dal dentista giovedì.I have to go to the dentist's on Thursday.
Non c’è niente da fare.There is nothing to be done.
Da giovane suonava la chitarra.As a young man he played the guitar.
Die typisch deutsche Falle
Aufgepasst
English marks a stretch of time that is still running with a perfect — « I have lived here for three years » — and the perfect is exactly the tense Italian must not use. Abito qui da tre anni is a plain present, because the living has not stopped. Ho abitato qui da tre anni says the opposite: I used to live here, and I do not any more.
Still going on: present tense, with da.
Jetzt selbst
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