How to use:

 

Lì and là can be used alone (as shown in the example above) or together with other adverbs of place which specify the direction of proximity, such as vicino, accanto (nearby), sotto (down), sopra (up), fuori (out), dentro (in).

 

Examples:

- Cosa ci facevi lì dentro? / What were you doing in there?

- Mia nonna abitava nella casa lì accanto / My grandmother used to live in the house nearby

- C’è nessuno là fuori? / Is there anybody out there?

 

NOTE that —> là + giù = laggiù, and it translates as down there.

Equally, là + su = lassù, and it translates as up there.

 

Examples:

- Lassù qualcuno mi ama / Somebody up there likes me

- Sono lassù che guardano le stelle / They’re up there looking at the stars

- C’è nessuno laggiù? / Is there anybody down there?

 

When placed after a noun or a demonstrative pronoun lì and là indicate “that person or thing that are over there, or that we have just named”. Sometimes in a pejorative shade (but not necessarily).

 

Examples:

- Ho telefonato ad Anna, ma quella lì non ha voluto rispondere / I called Anna, but she (that one) wouldn’t pick up the phone

- I miei si sono conosciuti proprio in quel bar lì / My parents met in that bar over there

 

Some expressions:

 

- Altolà / Halt!

- Chi va là? / Who’s there?

- Ehi là / Hey there

- Essere in là con gli anni / To be getting on in years

- Eccoli là / There they are

- Da qui a lì / From here to there

- Fin là / As far as there

- È di là / He’s in the other room

- Per di là / That way

- Andare troppo in là / To go too far

- Non va molto in là / He / she is not very bright

 

NOTE that —> the adverbial phrase al di là means “beyond” or “across”. As a single word – aldilà (masculine singular noun) – it translates as “afterworld, afterlife, hereafter”.

 

Examples:

- L’aldilà / The hereafter

- Anna crede nell’aldilà, Marco no / Anna believes in an afterlife while Marco doesn’t

- Al di là del fiume / Across the river

- Al di là delle montagne / Beyond the mountains

- Al di là del bene e del male / Beyond good and evil