Nel vs. In

Ciao a tutti, I'm not sure when to use "nel" and when to use "in". The rocket italian lessons state both can mean the english word "in", but again, I'm not sure about what context to use which word in.

Ciao Dario, Please see examples below of how to use nel, nella and in: nel=in+il (in the) definite article 'il' nella=in + la(in the) definite article 'la' Examples: Firenze è nel cuore della Toscana. Florence is in the heart of Tuscany. Nella casa del Signore In the house of the Lord in= in, to (preposition) Examples: Acqua in bocca Don't say anything (Lit: water in the mouth) A Roma tutti vivono in appartamento? In Rome does everybody live in apartments? I hope these help. Giovanni

Ciao Dario, John is correct. Nel = in + il, nella = in+la, etc When to use them? In Italian "in" is used when you will reply to questions like "Where?" or "Where to?" as: - as the English preposition "to" when you want to say that you are going to a specific continent,country, bigger island, region, address) Example: -I'm going on holiday to Puglia -Vado in vacanza in Puglia -as the English preposition "by" when you speaking about transportation Example: -I'm going by car -Vado in macchina -before names of shops ending on -ia. Example: -I'm going to the pizza shop -Vado in pizzeria. Here some other helpful names: -profumeria -macellaria -gelataria -salumeria but there are some exceptions. In fact the preposition "in" is also used before the below nouns ... Example: Vado ... in discoteca in banca in piscine in edicola in palestra in ufficio in chiesa in campagna in montagna in centro in vacanza in biblioteca "Nel" is used in the same way you will use "in the" in English. Please let me know if it's not clear. Ciao