Italian · CEFR Band 1 (A1) · Chapter 25
Giri a destraTurn right
The secret revealed: al, alla, del, nel are not new words — they are the prepositions you know FUSED with the article. A + il = al, a + la = alla, di + il = del, in + il = nel. With the fusion come the CILS street directions: «Deve andare in fondo alla strada e girare a destra» — deve + infinitive, the polite formula of directions. Destra, sinistra, dritto, il binario, il biglietto: the shopping-and-places arc closes at the station, with Mike finally knowing where to go — and how to ask.
Dialogue
i
Study this section in the Bookverse app
- Spaced repetition schedules your reviews
- Practice tasks with pass tracking
- A teacher on every study screen
- Progress saved across chapters and devices — laptop and phone
- Audio playback for dialogues and words
- Speaking practice with feedback
- Search dictionaries and chat with AI, all inside the app
Sign up and start studying in the Bookverse app.
You will be asked to register first.
Vicino la stazione?— «Near the station»? (a fusion gone missing)
- MikeMarco, il supermercato è vicino la stazione?Marco, is the supermarket «near the station»? (The a skipped before the article — the slip this chapter fixes: vicino ALLA stazione.)
- MarcoVicino ALLA stazione! Vicino vuole A — e a + la si fondono: alla. Come al bar, che dici da settimane!Vicino ALLA stazione! Vicino wants A — and a + la fuse: alla. Like al bar, which you have been saying for weeks!
- MikeAlla! Al! Adesso capisco… E dov'è la stazione?Alla! Al! Now I get it… And where IS the station?
- MarcoDeve andare dritto, in fondo alla strada, e girare a destra. La stazione è lì!You need to go straight, to the end of the street, and turn right. The station is there! (The CILS directions formula, word for word; lì «there», glossed.)
- MikeDritto, in fondo alla strada, a destra. Vado alla stazione — e prendo il treno per Napoli!Straight, to the end of the street, right. I'm going to the station — and taking the train to Naples! (per Napoli — the ticket-window «for»: il treno per Napoli.)
Dialogue
i
Study this section in the Bookverse app
- Spaced repetition schedules your reviews
- Practice tasks with pass tracking
- A teacher on every study screen
- Progress saved across chapters and devices — laptop and phone
- Audio playback for dialogues and words
- Speaking practice with feedback
- Search dictionaries and chat with AI, all inside the app
Sign up and start studying in the Bookverse app.
You will be asked to register first.
Binario tre— Platform three
- GiuliaDue biglietti per Napoli, per favore! …Ecco. Marco, dov'è il binario tre?Two tickets to Naples, please! …There. Marco, where is platform three? (The CILS papers order tickets exactly like this: «Vorrei due biglietti…».)
- MarcoIn fondo alla stazione, a sinistra. Ma attenzione: «treno in transito al binario due» — non è il nostro!At the end of the station, on the left. But careful: «treno in transito al binario due» — that's not ours! (The CILS station announcement, heard in the wild; attenzione «careful», glossed.)
- GiuliaIl nostro va dal binario tre alle undici e mezzo. Andiamo — dritto e a sinistra!Ours leaves from platform three at half past eleven. Let's go — straight and then left! (dal = da + il, the from-fusion joining the family.)
- MarcoE a Napoli, benvenuti a casa mia: il centro, il mare — e la vera pizza!And in Naples, welcome to my home turf: the centro, the sea — and the real pizza! (il mare «the sea», glossed — the travel arc will claim it later.)
Vocabulary
i
Study this section in the Bookverse app
- Spaced repetition schedules your reviews
- Practice tasks with pass tracking
- A teacher on every study screen
- Progress saved across chapters and devices — laptop and phone
- Audio playback for dialogues and words
- Speaking practice with feedback
- Search dictionaries and chat with AI, all inside the app
Sign up and start studying in the Bookverse app.
You will be asked to register first.
- al / alla / allo / all'
prepositionto the, at the — a fused with the article: a+il=al, a+la=alla, a+lo=allo, a+l'=all'
- del / nel / dal
prepositionof the / in the / from the — di, in, da fuse the same way: di+il=del, in+il=nel, da+il=dal
- la destra
n.f.the right (girare a destra = turn right)
- la sinistra
n.f.the left (a sinistra = on/to the left)
- dritto
adverbstraight ahead (andare dritto — hold the tt)
- in fondo a…
phraseat the end of… (in fondo alla strada — the attested CILS phrase, fusion included)
- girare
verbto turn (io giro; girare a destra/sinistra — the CILS directions verb)
- deve + infinito
phraseyou need to… (polite Lei) — Deve andare dritto; the directions chunk (dovere's full family in chapter 30)
- il binario
n.m.the platform, the track (binario 18 — the CILS announcement's star)
- il biglietto
n.m.the ticket (train, cinema, museum — one word for all of them; a CILS regular)
Grammar
i
Study this section in the Bookverse app
- Spaced repetition schedules your reviews
- Practice tasks with pass tracking
- A teacher on every study screen
- Progress saved across chapters and devices — laptop and phone
- Audio playback for dialogues and words
- Speaking practice with feedback
- Search dictionaries and chat with AI, all inside the app
Sign up and start studying in the Bookverse app.
You will be asked to register first.
Al, alla, del, nel — the fusion revealed
Explanation
You have said them for weeks — al bar, alle otto, della mamma — and today you see the mechanism: when a, di, da, in and su meet a definite article, they FUSE into a single word. The recipe: preposition + the article form you already know how to choose. A: al, allo, alla, all', ai, agli, alle. DI: del, dello, della, dell', dei, degli, delle. IN: nel, nello, nella… DA: dal, dalla… SU: sul, sulla… There is nothing new to decide: pick the article with chapters 7-8-11's rules, and the fusion comes by itself — vicino ALLA stazione (a+la), in fondo ALLA strada, il treno DAL binario tre, la casa DELLA nonna. Mind the border: the frozen families stay frozen — a casa, in centro, in treno take no article, so no fusion. And the chapter's practical gift: directions. Deve andare dritto, in fondo alla strada, e girare a destra — deve + infinitive is the kind way to guide someone (dovere's whole family arrives in chapter 30). Ask, listen for the fusion, walk.
Examples
- a + il = al · a + la = alla · di + il = del · in + il = nelthe fusion recipe — preposition + the article you already know how to pick
- vicino alla stazione · in fondo alla strada · dal binario trethe fusions at work in real directions — CILS wording included
- a casa, in centro, in treno — congelati, niente fusionethe frozen families keep their border: no article, no fusion
- Deve andare dritto e girare a destra.deve + infinitive: the polite engine of every street direction (full dovere in chapter 30)
Want to actually learn this — with audio, spaced repetition and progress tracking?
Study in the app →