Improper prepositions are adverbs, adjectives, or verbs that can also be used as a preposition.
As prepositions, they always precede a noun and introduce an indirect complement:
- Ti telefono dopo pranzo.
- I’ll call you after lunch
- Camminavo lungo la spiaggia.
- I walked along the beach.
- Il cane correva dietro il suo padrone.
- The dog ran after his master.
Improper prepositions can be:
1. Adverbs: davanti, dietro, dentro, fuori, dopo, prima, insieme, sopra, sotto, circa, contro, etc.
These adverbs, when used alone and specify the meaning of the verb, have the value of adverbs, But when they introduce a noun and form a complement they are prepositions:
- Ci vediamo dopo. (dopo = adverb)
- We will see each other later.
- Ci vediamo dopo il film. (dopo = preposition)
- See you after the movie.
2. Adjectives: lungo, vicino, lontano, salvo, secondo, etc.
- Abbiamo fatto una lunga passeggiata. (lunga = Adjective)
- We took a long walk.
- Passeggiavo lungo il fiume. (lungo = preposition)
- I was walking along the river.
3. Verbs: usually past or present participles: durante, mediante, nonostante, escluso, eccetto, stante, etc. which have almost completely lost their proper verbal value and are commonly used as prepositions:
- Sono stati tutti esclusi dal gioco. (escluso = verb)
- They were all banned from the game.
- Sono stati ammessi tutti escluso gli ultimi. (escluso = preposition)
- Everyone was admitted except the last ones.
There are improper prepositions (preposizioni improprie) that can join other proper prepositions (preposizioni proprie) giving rise to prepositional phrases (locuzioni preposizionali):
- Sono proprio davanti a te.
- I’m right in front of you.
- Dietro alla casa c’era un bel giardino.
- Behind the house there was a beautiful garden.
- Lontano dai suoi genitori non poteva stare.
- He couldn’t stay away from his parents.
- Andate fuori di qui!.
- Get out of here!.