L06: ADVERBS OF PLACE
(Avverbi di luogo)
By definition, these adverbs specify where an action, etc takes place. As in English, there are many such adverbs, and we list some of the most common below, together with examples.
qui, qua - here
lì, là - there
su - up
giù - down
quassù - up here
quaggiù - down here
lassù - up there
laggiù - down there
sopra - above, on, upon, over, upstairs
sotto - beneath, under, below, downstairs
dentro - inside, within, indoors
fuori - outside, outdoors
dietro - behind
davanti - in front
indietro - back, backwards, behind
lontano - far
oltre - further, beyond
altrove - elsewhere
dappertutto - everywhere
NOTE: Qui and qua, and lì and là are interchangeable.
Examples
Siamo arrivati qui/qua alle dieci
We arrived here at ten
Ci ha preso due ore di camminare lì/là
It took us two hours to walk there
Ci dissero di continuare ad andar su
They told us to keep going up
Vado a portare giù le valigie
I’ll go and bring the cases down
La vista è meglio da quassù
The view is better from up here
Non si gode una tale vista splendida da quaggiù
One doesn’t have such a good view from down here
Alla fine mamma è lassù, dove si è riunita con papà
At last Mum is up there, where she is reunited with Dad
Anche di laggiù si può vedere la grande cattedrale che domina la città
Even from down here one can see the huge cathedral that dominates the city
Le persone che abitano sopra sono molto piacevoli
The people who live upstairs are very pleasant
Però, non mi piace la famiglia che abita sotto
However, I don’t like the family who live downstairs
Penso che siano andate dentro le signore
I think the ladies went inside
Ceniamo fuori stasera?
Shall we eat out this evening?
Siccome Gianni stava essendo tanto irragionevole, ci sentivamo che dovessimo andare dietro le sue spalle per completare i progetto
Because John was being so unreasonable, we felt we had to go behind his back in order to complete the project
Posso andare davanti?
Can I sit in front?
Non lasciami indietro!
Don’t leave me behind!
Quando ho fatto un passo indietro, riuscivo a vedere come andava il lavoro
When I took a step back, I was able to see how the work was going.
È sempre utile guardare oltre il presente
It’s always useful to look beyond the present
La sua dedizione lo porterà lontano
His dedication will take him far
Dobbiamo andare altrove per trovare ciò che cerchiamo
We will have to go elsewhere to find what we are looking for
Abbiamo cercato dappertutto ma non potremmo trovare quel libro
We searched everywhere but we could not find that book
Many of these adverbs can act also as prepositions, when they are accompanied by simple prepositions such as a, di, da, for example:
Ieri ho lavorato in giardino davanti alla casa
Yesterday I worked in the front garden (literally: in the garden in front of the house)
Perché del lavoro mi trovo spesso lontano dalla famiglia e dai cari
Because of my work I often find myself far from the family and friends
L06: ADVERBS OF PLACE
- Peter
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- Joined: Mon Feb 07, 2005 12:41 pm
- Location: Horsham, West Sussex, England
L06: ADVERBS OF PLACE
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Peter
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Peter
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