🔍 In short. The italian preposition con covers six everyday jobs: companionship (esco con Caterina), instrument (taglio il pane con il coltello), manner (agisci con calma), description and quality (un signore con la barba bianca), cause or circumstance (con questo freddo non esce nessuno), and the modal infinitive (con il lamentarsi non si ottiene nulla). The italian preposition con also hides inside a handful of fossilised articulated forms (col, coi) and inside fixed phrases like caffè col latte. This guide walks through each role with real examples, a cheat sheet, a dialogue at a wine bar in Verona, and a quiz to test it all.
Get the italian preposition con right and an entire slice of natural Italian opens up: who you are with, what you use, how you act, what someone looks like. By the end you will choose between con and its rivals (di, da, in) by reflex and stop translating con as a flat English “with”.
Cosa impareremo oggi
👆🏻 Jump to section
- Companionship: esco con Caterina
- Instrument: con il coltello, con il treno
- Manner: agire con calma
- Description and quality: un signore con la barba bianca
- Cause and circumstance: con questo freddo
- Con plus infinitive: con il lamentarsi
- Col, coi: the articulated forms that survived
- Cheat sheet: italian preposition con
- Five traps for English speakers
- Dialogue: at the wine bar in Verona
- Frequently asked questions
- Related guides
Companionship: esco con Caterina
The first job of the italian preposition con is signalling who or what is with you. Step into an enoteca in Verona on a Friday evening, listen to the table next to yours, and you will hear it within the first minute: sono qui con i colleghi, ho cenato con mia sorella, esco con Federica e Lorenzo. Italian grammarians call this the complemento di compagnia when the partner is a person, and complemento di unione when it is a thing carried alongside.
- Esco con Caterina stasera, andiamo a vedere un concerto al teatro romano.
I’m going out with Caterina tonight, we’re going to see a concert at the Roman theatre. - Tommaso parla con Margherita ogni domenica per un’ora intera.
Tommaso speaks with Margherita every Sunday for a full hour. - Pietro è partito per il trekking con lo zaino vecchio del fratello.
Pietro left for the trek with his brother’s old backpack. - Andiamo in pizzeria con i colleghi di Caterina venerdì sera.
We’re going to a pizzeria with Caterina’s colleagues on Friday evening.
One nuance trips up English speakers. When with means simply “in the company of”, Italian uses con. But when it means “and”, as in a list of two equal subjects, Italian usually prefers e: Caterina e Pietro sono partiti (“Caterina and Pietro left”), not Caterina con Pietro sono partiti. The italian preposition con keeps the second person clearly subordinate to the first: Caterina è partita con Pietro means Caterina is the protagonist, Pietro is her companion. The split mirrors the English “with versus and” but Italian respects it more strictly.
🎯 Mini-task #1. Choose con or e to link the two people.
- Margherita ___ Lorenzo si conoscono da vent’anni.
- Sono andato al cinema ___ Federica, abbiamo visto un film bellissimo.
- Stasera ceno ___ i miei genitori a Padova.
- Pietro ___ Tommaso lavorano insieme nello stesso studio.
👉 Show answers
1. Margherita e Lorenzo (two equal subjects) · 2. con Federica · 3. con i miei genitori · 4. Pietro e Tommaso (two equal subjects)
Instrument: con il coltello, con il treno
The second role of the italian preposition con is one of the most useful: it introduces the instrument, the tool, or the means used to do something. Italian grammarians call this the complemento di mezzo o strumento. The pattern is verb + con + the object you used. It covers everyday tools, means of transport, and even abstract instruments like languages or methods.
- Pietro taglia il pane con il coltello giapponese che gli ha regalato la sorella.
Pietro cuts the bread with the Japanese knife his sister gave him. - Vado al lavoro con il treno delle sette e quaranta.
I go to work on the seven-forty train. - Niccolò ha aperto la bottiglia con il cavatappi del nonno.
Niccolò opened the bottle with his grandfather’s corkscrew. - Margherita ha pulito tutta la cucina con prodotti naturali.
Margherita cleaned the whole kitchen with natural products.
Two refinements matter. First, for means of transport English alternates “by” (by train, by car) with “on” (on foot); the italian preposition con covers both, except for a piedi (on foot), which uses a. So vado a Bologna con il treno, con la macchina, con l’aereo, but a piedi. Second, when the instrument is part of the body, Italian often uses con too: indica con il dito, scrive con la mano sinistra, ascolta con un orecchio solo. Treccani confirms the same range in its entry on the preposition: leggo solo con gli occhiali.
Manner: agire con calma
The third role of the italian preposition con is one of the most stylistically rich: it turns an abstract noun into an adverb of manner. Italian grammarians label it complemento di modo o maniera. Where English uses an “-ly” adverb (calmly, carefully, patiently), Italian very often prefers con plus the noun (con calma, con attenzione, con pazienza). The result sounds far more natural in everyday speech than the matching adverb in -mente.
- Federica ha risolto tutta la pratica con calma e con molta pazienza.
Federica resolved the whole paperwork calmly and with a lot of patience. - Lorenzo lavora con precisione, controlla ogni pezzo due volte.
Lorenzo works with precision, he checks every piece twice. - Caterina ha risposto con un sorriso, anche se era molto stanca.
Caterina answered with a smile, even though she was very tired. - Pietro ha accettato la critica con grande sportività.
Pietro accepted the criticism with great sportsmanship.
A native speaker reaches for the italian preposition con plus a noun before the -mente adverb in almost every register. Compare the two options: parla calmamente versus parla con calma. Both are grammatical, but the second is what you actually hear in a conversation in Padova or Lecce. The Treccani entry uses the very same example: agisci sempre con prudenza. Reach for the italian preposition con whenever you would otherwise stack two or three -mente adverbs in a row.
🎯 Mini-task #2. Rewrite the adverb in -mente as con + noun.
- Lorenzo guida prudentemente sotto la pioggia.
- Margherita lavora attentamente al restauro del quadro.
- Tommaso ha risposto seccamente al collega.
- Caterina aspetta pazientemente in sala d’attesa.
👉 Show answers
1. con prudenza · 2. con attenzione · 3. con secchezza · 4. con pazienza
Description and quality: un signore con la barba bianca
The fourth role of the italian preposition con is physical or visual description, especially of people and things. Italian grammarians call this the complemento di qualità. The pattern un / una + noun + con + feature lets you sketch someone in a single phrase: un signore con la barba bianca, una ragazza con gli occhiali rossi, una casa con il giardino, una camera con vista sul fiume.
- Un signore con la barba bianca aspetta al banco delle informazioni.
A gentleman with a white beard is waiting at the information desk. - Cerco una camera con vista sul fiume per il fine settimana lungo.
I’m looking for a room with a view of the river for the long weekend. - Niccolò ha comprato una casa vecchia con il giardino e due olivi.
Niccolò bought an old house with a garden and two olive trees. - Quella ragazza con la giacca di velluto verde è la nuova restauratrice.
That young woman with the green velvet jacket is the new restorer.
Watch the contrast with the italian preposition da, because the two look similar but draw different portraits:
- un signore con la barba bianca: a man who happens to have a white beard right now (literal, concrete)
- un signore dalla barba bianca: a white-bearded man (the beard is a defining trait, more literary)
- una ragazza con gli occhi verdi: a girl with green eyes (everyday)
- una ragazza dagli occhi verdi: a green-eyed girl (poetic, descriptive)
Both are correct. Con is the everyday choice; da belongs to literature, careful prose, or vivid portraits. A child describing a stranger will reach for con; a novelist building a character will lean on da. The italian preposition con also forms the noun-plus-noun pattern of recipes and food labels: caffè con latte, panino con la mortadella, insalata con il tonno, risotto con i funghi. The composition of one thing inside another is the bread-and-butter use of the italian preposition con.
Cause and circumstance: con questo freddo
The fifth role of the italian preposition con is a quieter one, but it appears constantly in spoken Italian. It introduces a cause or a circumstance, often atmospheric or seasonal. Treccani calls it the complemento di causa when the circumstance produces the effect (con la crisi attuale il commercio è in ribasso) and notes the related “circumstance” use for weather, light, or season (le rondini se ne vanno con i primi freddi).
- Con questo freddo non esce di casa nessuno.
With this cold weather nobody leaves the house. - Con la pioggia di questa settimana il fiume è salito di un metro.
With this week’s rain the river has risen by a metre. - Con tutti gli impegni che ho, non riesco a leggere un romanzo intero.
With everything I have on, I can’t manage to read a whole novel. - Lorenzo si è messo in cammino con le prime luci dell’alba.
Lorenzo set off at the first light of dawn.
A close cousin is the complemento di limitazione, the “as for” use, which answers the question “with respect to what?”. You hear it in casual check-in questions: come va con la salute?, come va con il nuovo lavoro?, come va con i bambini?. The italian preposition con narrows the field to a single topic without spelling out a longer phrase. Use the italian preposition con when you want to ask “how are things going on the front of X” without sounding clinical.
Con plus infinitive: con il lamentarsi
The sixth role of the italian preposition con is the most overlooked by learners, and it carries some of the most idiomatic flavour of all. Placed before an infinitive (with or without the article), con introduces a modal clause: it explains the means or the manner by which something happens. The Treccani entry gives the textbook example: con il lamentarsi non si ottiene nulla (“by complaining you get nowhere”).
- Con il leggere ogni giorno Federica ha migliorato moltissimo l’italiano.
By reading every day, Federica has greatly improved her Italian. - Con l’aspettare un’altra settimana, perdiamo l’occasione del concerto.
By waiting another week, we’ll miss the chance for the concert. - Tommaso ha guadagnato la fiducia del capo con il lavorare in silenzio.
Tommaso earned the boss’s trust by working quietly. - Con il preoccuparsi troppo non si risolve nulla, mi disse mia nonna.
By worrying too much you solve nothing, my grandmother used to tell me.
The construction is parallel to the English gerund “by doing X” and to the Italian gerund lamentandosi. So con il lamentarsi non si ottiene nulla and lamentandosi non si ottiene nulla mean the same thing. The italian preposition con plus the infinitive sounds slightly heavier and more formal, while the gerund is lighter and more frequent in speech. Both are correct; pick the one that suits your register. The italian preposition con plus infinitive is especially common in proverbs and pieces of advice from older generations.
Col, coi: the articulated forms that survived
Old Italian fused the italian preposition con with the definite article exactly as it still does for di, a, da, in, su: col (con il), collo (con lo), colla (con la), coi (con i), cogli (con gli), colle (con le). Today most of these articulated forms of the italian preposition con have retreated into nineteenth-century novels. Only two survive in living usage: col (con il) and coi (con i). All the other forms are replaced by the detached spelling con lo, con la, con gli, con le.
- Mi prendo un caffè col latte e una brioche calda.
I’ll have a coffee with milk and a warm pastry. - Pietro ha chiuso col botto la stagione: tre premi in un mese.
Pietro closed the season with a bang: three awards in one month. - Niccolò gioca coi nipoti tutti i sabato pomeriggio.
Niccolò plays with his grandchildren every Saturday afternoon. - Federica viaggia sempre coi bagagli leggeri, anche per due settimane.
Federica always travels with light luggage, even for two weeks.
You can safely write con il and con i everywhere; no native speaker will object. The contracted forms col and coi belong to informal headlines, fixed phrases (caffè col latte, bistecca col pepe), and a slightly journalistic register. Avoid the older collo, colla, cogli, colle: they sound archaic and may even cause confusion with the homograph collo (“neck”). The italian preposition con is the only preposition where the detached form is now the default; for the other five prepositions, the articulated form is still standard.
Cheat sheet: italian preposition con
One table, the whole map. Keep it open while you write your next paragraph that needs the italian preposition con.
| Role | Pattern | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Companionship (person) | verbo + con + persona | esco con Caterina; cena con i colleghi |
| Union (thing carried) | verbo + con + oggetto | parte con lo zaino vecchio |
| Instrument / tool | verbo + con + oggetto | taglia con il coltello; scrive con la penna |
| Means of transport | verbo + con + mezzo | vado con il treno (but a piedi) |
| Manner (adverbial) | verbo + con + nome astratto | agisci con calma; lavora con precisione |
| Description (person, thing) | nome + con + tratto | un signore con la barba bianca |
| Composition (food, recipes) | nome + con + ingrediente | caffè con latte; panino con la mortadella; risotto con i funghi |
| Cause / circumstance | con + nome | con questo freddo; con la crisi |
| “As for, with respect to” | come va con + tema | come va con la salute? |
| Con + infinitive (“by -ing”) | con (il) + infinito | con il leggere ogni giorno |
| Articulated forms in use | col, coi | caffè col latte; gioca coi nipoti |
Five traps for English speakers
Five recurring mistakes flag a B1 sentence as written by a learner. Catch them early and the italian preposition con starts behaving.
Trap 1. Using con for “and” with two equal subjects. Wrong: Caterina con Lorenzo si conoscono da vent’anni. Correct: Caterina e Lorenzo si conoscono da vent’anni. With con, the second person becomes a companion, not an equal subject; the verb stays singular: Caterina si è sposata con Lorenzo.
Trap 2. Translating “on foot” with con. Wrong: vado con i piedi. Correct: vado a piedi. All other means of transport take con (con il treno, con la bici, con la macchina), but a piedi is the fixed form. The italian preposition con accepts no exceptions here.
Trap 3. Forgetting con for manner. Wrong: parla calma. Correct: parla con calma. An abstract noun cannot float free as an adverb in Italian; it needs the italian preposition con to bind it to the verb. Same logic for con attenzione, con pazienza, con cura, con prudenza.
Trap 4. Using collo, colla, cogli, colle in modern writing. Wrong (today): scrivo colla penna nuova. Correct: scrivo con la penna nuova. Only col and coi survive in modern usage; the others read as nineteenth-century novel prose. Keep con detached from the article in all formal writing.
Trap 5. Mixing con and di for composition. A small group of fixed phrases prefer di: una giacca di velluto (“a velvet jacket”), una statua di marmo, un pavimento di legno. Here di labels the material the object is made of. With con the noun becomes a feature added to the object: una giacca con il velluto would suggest velvet trim, not a jacket made of velvet. Read the meaning first, choose the preposition second.
🎯 Mini-challenge. Fill the gap with the italian preposition con (simple or articulated col / coi) or with di, a, e.
- Federica è andata in centro ___ piedi, perché non c’erano autobus.
- Margherita ___ Tommaso sono cresciuti nello stesso quartiere di Perugia.
- Lorenzo ha tagliato l’erba ___ il tagliaerba nuovo del vicino.
- Pietro ha lavorato tutto il giorno ___ calma, senza una pausa lunga.
- Niccolò porta sempre ___ sé il libro che sta leggendo.
- Mi prendo un caffè ___ latte e poi vado in libreria.
- Caterina ha comprato una statua ___ marmo per il giardino.
- Una ragazza ___ la giacca rossa ti sta cercando in sala d’attesa.
👉 Show answers
1. a piedi · 2. Margherita e Tommaso · 3. con il tagliaerba · 4. con calma · 5. con sé · 6. col latte · 7. di marmo (material) · 8. con la giacca rossa
Dialogue: at the wine bar in Verona
Federica stops at a small enoteca in Verona on her way back from a long bike ride along the Adige. The sommelier, Niccolò, walks her through a flight of three local wines. Listen for the italian preposition con in every role: companionship, instrument, manner, description, cause, composition.
👩🏼🦰 Federica: Buonasera. Sono qui con un amico che arriva tra dieci minuti, vorrei iniziare con un calice di Soave.
Good evening. I’m here with a friend who’s arriving in ten minutes, I’d like to start with a glass of Soave.
👨🏽🦱 Niccolò: Con piacere. Glielo servo subito, fresco. Lo abbiamo aperto stamattina con il tappo a vite, si conserva meglio.
With pleasure. I’ll serve it to you right away, chilled. We opened it this morning with a screw cap, it keeps better.
👩🏼🦰 Federica: Perfetto. Con questo caldo un bianco fresco è quello che ci vuole. Come va con la nuova carta dei vini?
Perfect. With this heat a chilled white is just what you need. How are things going with the new wine list?
👨🏽🦱 Niccolò: Bene, abbiamo aggiunto cinque etichette del Garda. Lavoriamo con un produttore piccolo, fa tutto col fratello in cantina.
Well, we’ve added five labels from Lake Garda. We work with a small producer, he does everything with his brother in the cellar.
👩🏼🦰 Federica: Interessante. Mi consigli un rosso da abbinare con uno stinco di maiale al forno e patate arrosto?
Interesting. Would you recommend a red to pair with a roasted pork shank and roast potatoes?
👨🏽🦱 Niccolò: Le propongo un Valpolicella Ripasso. È un vino con il corpo giusto per la selvaggina, struttura morbida ma tannini decisi.
I’d suggest a Valpolicella Ripasso. It’s a wine with the right body for game, soft structure but firm tannins.
👩🏼🦰 Federica: Lo prendo. Mi piace assaggiare i vini con calma, non di fretta. Possiamo aprirlo con il decanter?
I’ll take it. I like to taste wines calmly, not in a hurry. Can we open it with the decanter?
👨🏽🦱 Niccolò: Certamente. Glielo apro con il cavatappi a leva, dieci minuti nel decanter e sarà perfetto. Lo serviamo coi taglieri di formaggio?
Of course. I’ll open it with the lever corkscrew, ten minutes in the decanter and it’ll be perfect. Shall we serve it with the cheese boards?
👩🏼🦰 Federica: Sì, un tagliere con il pecorino stagionato e il miele di castagno. Grazie, con voi si torna sempre volentieri.
Yes, a board with aged pecorino and chestnut honey. Thanks, you always make me want to come back.
Count the appearances: con un amico (companionship), con un calice (instrument), con piacere (manner, fixed phrase), con il tappo a vite (instrument), con questo caldo (circumstance), con la nuova carta (limitation), con un produttore (companionship), col fratello (companionship, articulated), con uno stinco di maiale (composition), con il corpo giusto (description), con calma (manner), con il decanter (instrument), con il cavatappi (instrument), coi taglieri (companionship, articulated), con il pecorino (composition), con voi (companionship). One enoteca visit, sixteen different uses of the italian preposition con.
Test your understanding
The quiz below drills the italian preposition con across all six roles plus the articulated forms col and coi. Take it after the cheat sheet.
–
§
Frequently asked questions
Seven questions about the italian preposition con come up in every B1 cohort. The answers below draw on real classroom usage and on the Treccani entry on the preposition, the standard institutional reference on Italian grammar.
When should I use col instead of con il?
Both forms of the italian preposition con are correct, but their registers differ. Con il is the modern default in writing, formal speech, and everyday conversation. Col survives in informal headlines, set phrases like caffe col latte and bistecca col pepe, and a slightly journalistic register. The same applies to coi versus con i. The older articulated forms collo, colla, cogli, colle have effectively disappeared from modern Italian and read as nineteenth-century novel prose. When in doubt, write con il and con i: no native speaker will object.
What is the difference between andare con il treno and andare in treno?
Both are correct and both are used. Andare con il treno emphasises the train as the instrument, the tool that carries you, and matches the pattern of con il coltello or con la penna. Andare in treno emphasises being inside the train as a location, parallel to in macchina or in aereo. In is slightly more common for means of transport, but con il treno is fully natural too. The only fixed exception is a piedi for on foot, which never takes con.
How does con plus an infinitive work?
Placed before an infinitive, the italian preposition con introduces a modal clause meaning by doing something. The construction is con plus the article plus the infinitive, as in con il leggere ogni giorno Federica ha migliorato l’italiano, meaning by reading every day Federica has improved her Italian. Treccani gives the textbook example con il lamentarsi non si ottiene nulla, meaning by complaining you get nowhere. The same idea can be expressed with the gerund (leggendo, lamentandosi); the con plus infinitive form is heavier and more formal, common in proverbs and traditional advice.
What is the difference between pagare con and pagare in for payment methods?
Both prepositions appear in everyday speech, with a small split. Pagare con is the instrument pattern: pagare con la carta, pagare con il bancomat, pagare con il telefono, pagare con un assegno. Pagare in is the currency or material pattern: pagare in contanti, pagare in euro, pagare in dollari, pagare in rate. So con introduces the tool you reach for, in introduces the form the money takes. A waiter asking come paga? expects an answer with either preposition depending on which detail you wish to highlight.
Why do Italians say un signore con la barba bianca and not un signore di la barba bianca?
Description and quality belong to the italian preposition con, not to di. Un signore con la barba bianca, una camera con vista, una casa con il giardino: the pattern is noun plus con plus the feature added. The italian preposition di covers materials (una statua di marmo, una giacca di velluto) and origin (un vino di Verona), not physical features attached to a person or thing. A more literary alternative for portrait-style description is da: un signore dalla barba bianca. Both con and da are correct; con is everyday, da is more poetic.
Can I use con to introduce a cause or a reason?
Yes. The italian preposition con often introduces a cause or a circumstance, especially weather, season, or general conditions: con questo freddo non esce nessuno, con la pioggia il fiume e salito, con tutti gli impegni non riesco a leggere. Treccani lists the complemento di causa explicitly: con la crisi attuale il commercio e in ribasso. This use overlaps with per (cause-and-effect) and a causa di (formal), but con is the lightest, most idiomatic option for atmospheric or contextual causes.
How do I avoid the trap of using con for two equal subjects?
When two people are equal subjects of the same action, link them with e, not con. Margherita e Lorenzo si conoscono da vent’anni, not Margherita con Lorenzo si conoscono. With con, the second person becomes a companion subordinate to the first, and the verb stays singular: Margherita si e sposata con Lorenzo. The test: ask who is the protagonist of the sentence. If both, use e and a plural verb; if one is the protagonist and the other their companion, use con and a singular verb.
Ready for the next step?
All our classes are live on Zoom with a native Italian teacher, in small groups. If this lesson matches your level, take it further with real practice.
Milano A2-B1
Small group course · live on Zoom · native teacher
Move from the basics to real conversations, step by step, with a native Italian teacher who keeps the group small and the pace right for you.
- Small groups, max 4 students — weekly live Zoom lessons
- Grammar, vocabulary, listening and writing in every cycle
- Materials in Italian + English, beginner-friendly
- Homework after each lesson, corrected by your teacher
Individual classes
One-to-one · any level · live on Zoom
Private lessons with your dedicated native Italian teacher, fully tailored to your goals and schedule, from absolute beginner to advanced.
- 55-minute individual Zoom lessons, your dedicated teacher
- Personalised level assessment included
- Interactive online materials — homework after each lesson
- Flexible weekly schedule or pay-as-you-go package
Related guides
Three guides that pair with the italian preposition con, plus an institutional reference on its full range of uses.
- Italian Preposition DA: The Complete Guide for English Speakers: the sibling B1 pillar on the preposition da and its six roles.
- Italian Motion Prepositions: A, Da, Verso, In, Fino A: how con fits with the wider family of movement and direction prepositions.
- Italian In vs A for Places: the sibling A2 guide on a and in for static and dynamic locations.
- Treccani: Con (preposizione): the institutional entry covering every documented use.
