Italian Language Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for students, teachers, and linguists wanting to discuss the finer points of the Italian language. It only takes a minute to sign up.
Sign up to join this community
I'm trying to understand the rules but I don't seem to find a proper pattern.
The main problem is my Spanish and French conflict with Italian...
Io voglio andare a USA? Io voglio andare ai USA? Io voglio andare in USA?
In Spanish I would use a, in French I would use aux, which is ai... but what about Italian?
The preposition you must use in sentences with the structure
"andare" or "stare" + name of country, state, continent, region or big island
is in. For instance:
- Mi piacerebbe andare in Liguria.
- Quest'estate andremo in Francia.
- Voglio andare in campeggio in Corsica.
- Sei stato in Africa?
However, if such names are in plural or if they are followed by a specification (e.g. an adjective), you must use the so-called "preposizioni articolate", that is, nel, nello, nell', nella, nei, negli, nelle. For instance:
- Non sono mai stato nella Francia meridionale.
- Voglio andare negli Stati Uniti.
Note that with the name of cities or small islands, you must use the preposition a. For instance:
- Vado a Firenze.
- Andiamo a Capri.
Source: Fedrica Colombo, Grammatica e pratica della lingua italiana per studenti stranieri (edizioni ELI, 2006).
