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'Dipendere da', 'divorziare da' and other verbs that take 'da'

Italian da is the preposition of source and separation: it marks the thing you come from, move away from or get free of. A small group of common verbs always takes da before the words that follow them, even when English uses something quite different. You say dipendere da where English says depend on, divorziare da where English takes a plain direct object (divorce someone), and difendere da where English says defend against.

English speakers trip over these because they translate the English preposition word by word. That produces mistakes like dipende su or ha divorziato sua moglie, which Italians understand but immediately notice. Learning the verb together with its da is the simplest fix.

Word list
difendereB1 to defend difendere la casa dai ladri = to defend the house against burglars dipendereB1 to depend dipende dal tempo = it depends on the weather evadereB1 to escape è evaso dal carcere = he broke out of prison fuggireB1 to escape è fuggito dalla prigione = he escaped from prison guarireB1 to recover guarire da una malattia = to recover from an illness proteggereB1 to protect proteggere qualcosa da = to protect something from riprendersiB1 to recover si è ripreso dall'influenza = he recovered from the flu salvareB1 to save salvare qualcuno da un pericolo = to save someone from danger scappareB1 to escape è scappato dal carcere = he escaped from jail dimettersiB2 to quit si è dimesso dall'incarico = he resigned from the post divorziareB2 to divorce ha divorziato da sua moglie = he divorced his wife essere composto damB2 to consist of è composta da undici giocatori = it consists of eleven players separareB2 to separate separare il tuorlo dall'albume = to separate the yolk from the white
How it works

Think of these verbs as describing a link to a source or a separation from something. In Italian that idea is expressed with da, whatever English happens to use. Remember that da merges with the definite article: dal, dallo, dalla, dall', dai, dagli, dalle.

The rule of thumb: if the verb means depending on, splitting from, leaving, being made up of, or being shielded or freed from something, reach for da. The same logic explains verbs like separarsi da (to separate from) and derivare da (to come from, to derive from).

The words
Depending on something

Dipendere is the most frequent verb in the group and the most common trap, because English on pushes learners towards su. In Italian the thing you depend on is your source, so it takes da.

Tutto dipende da te.
(Everything depends on you.)
Se andiamo al mare dipende dal tempo.
(Whether we go to the seaside depends on the weather.)
Leaving a person or a job

With divorziare, English uses a direct object, but Italian needs da before the ex-partner. Dimettersi is reflexive, so it takes essere in the past, and the job or post you leave follows da.

Marco ha divorziato da sua moglie due anni fa.
(Marco divorced his wife two years ago.)
Il ministro si è dimesso dall'incarico ieri sera.
(The minister resigned from his post last night.)
Being made up of something

Essere composto da introduces the parts that make up a whole. English says consist of, so learners tend to use di, but da is the most common choice.

La squadra è composta da undici giocatori.
(The team consists of eleven players.)
Keeping something away

Proteggere and difendere take a direct object (who or what you protect) and then da before the danger. English says protect from, but defend against, so difendere is the one to watch.

Questa crema protegge la pelle dal sole.
(This cream protects your skin from the sun.)
Il nostro cane difende la casa dai ladri.
(Our dog defends the house against burglars.)
Getting over an illness

When guarire means to recover, the illness you get free of follows da. It takes essere in this sense.

Sono guarita dall'influenza in pochi giorni.
(I recovered from the flu in a few days.)
Watch out
  • Dipende su is always wrong. On its own, dipende is a very common reply meaning it depends.
  • Divorziare can stand alone when there is no ex-partner to name: hanno divorziato (they got divorced). As soon as you name the partner, add da.
  • You will also hear composto di, especially for materials, but composto da is the safe everyday choice.
  • With difendere you may also meet contro, as in difendersi contro un attacco, but da is the default.
  • Verbs of movement such as allontanarsi or trasferirsi also use da for the starting point. That is ordinary from, not a special rule for these verbs, so they are not covered here.
Summary

When a verb is about depending on, splitting from, resigning from, being made up of, or being protected or freed from something, Italian uses da, whatever English says: dipendere da, divorziare da, dimettersi da, essere composto da, proteggere da, difendere da, guarire da. Learn each verb together with its da, and remember to merge it with the article.