Preposizione "a" vs "in"

Ciao,

Perchè parliamo vado in enoteca per comprare una bottiglia di vino rosso e non "vado all'enoteca"?
Qual è la differenza tra "a" e "in"?

Grazie.

Hi Jemma,

You might find this topic useful: https://members.rocketlanguages.com/members/forum/italian-feedback-and-comments/38-connecting-words#/forum-post-44078

Basically, it depends on the noun itself:
You say a scuola, al museo, al centro commerciale and al cinema, but you also say in ospedale, in edicola, in tabaccheria and in banca. Both a and in can be used to translate the English at/in. A is more common for places (where? to where?), but some cases, like those that use in, are unpredictable. In some cases both prepositions are possible, but one is more used than the other (in tabaccheria is used 3 times as much as alla tabaccheria, for example). Be sure to learn the most common prepositions for each noun!

All'enoteca is generally used when you are addressing a specific winehouse, but in enoteca is perfectly possible as well.

If you have any doubts, don't hesitate to ask!

Lucia

Lucia,

Is it also correct that, while the incorrect preposition may not sound great to an Italian native, it is still perfectly understood (and would just identify the speaker as a language student!)?

Cheers,
Drew

Hi Drew,

As long as you don't use an entirely different preposition (example: sulla scuola), native speakers won't have any problems understanding you! :)

Lucia

Hi Lucia,

So, in the same way that "to school" sounds better than to go "in school", but either is understandable, it would work much the same in Italian then (although I gather the prepositions are more random)?

Drew

Yes, they would both work. "In scuola" sounds like fingernails on a chalkboard, but there's no room for misunderstandings.

Lucia

I have a feeling that "fingernails on a chalkboard" is my specialty! :)

I think you're doing an awesome work. We would say Stai facendo passi da gigante, you're coming on in leaps and bounds!

Lucia

Thanks Lucia, sei molto gentile.