Adverbs of place can also be categorized as prepositions. In Italian, when they function as prepositions they are called preposizioni improprie.
They are considered adverbs of place when they modify a verb; they are considered prepositions when they modify a noun or pronoun. Let’s look at two examples with the word sopra, “above.” E.g.,
Sopra l’armadio c’è un gatto. = Above the armchair there is a cat.
In this example sopra would be considered a preposition because it modifies a noun, l’armadio.
Sopra c’è un gatto. = There’s a cat above.
In this example sopra would be considered an adverb because it modifies a verb, c’è.
Similar to all other adverbs (and regardless of their function as adverb or preposition), they are invariable. For the sake of convenience, we will refer to them as “adverbs of place” for the rest of this section.
Many adverbs of place frequently require the preposition a, di, or da after them. These ‘follow-up’ prepositions can be simple or contracted, e.g.,
Vicino a Roma
Near Rome
Vicino al cinema
Near the theater
Following are the most common examples of such adverbs of place, and the preposition that usually follows them.
fino a
vicino a
accanto a
sotto a
fuori da (o di)
lontano da
sotto di
sopra di
a sinistra di
a destra di
all’inizio di
alla fine di
up until
close by
next to
underneath
outside of
far from
underneath
above
to the left of
to the right of
at the beginning of
at the end of