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'Rubare a qualcuno': why Italian says 'a' where English says 'from'

In English you steal something from someone, take something from them or hide something from them. Italian treats the person who loses out quite differently. With verbs like rubare, prendere, togliere and nascondere, that person is marked with a or with an indirect object pronoun such as mi, gli or le.

Because English says 'from', English speakers often reach for da and produce sentences like ha rubato il telefono da Luca, which sounds wrong to an Italian ear. Once you see the person as someone affected by the action, the a starts to feel natural.

Word list
prendereA2 to take prendere qualcosa a qualcuno = take sth from sb rubareA2 to steal rubare qualcosa a qualcuno = steal sth from sb togliereA2 to take out togliere qualcosa a qualcuno = take sth away from sb derubareB1 to rob derubare qualcuno di qualcosa = rob sb of sth nascondereB1 to hide nascondere qualcosa a qualcuno = hide sth from sb nascondereC1 to cover up nascondere qualcosa a qualcuno = cover sth up from sb
How it works

The pattern is verb + thing + a + person. The thing taken or hidden is the direct object. The person who loses it, or is kept from it, is an indirect object, exactly like the person you give something to. Italian marks both the receiver and the loser with a. Only the meaning of the verb tells you which direction the object is travelling.

When the person is a pronoun, you use the indirect object forms mi, ti, gli, le, ci, vi, gli before the verb. English often drops the person altogether and uses a possessive instead: 'they stole my phone'. Italian prefers the pronoun and the article: mi hanno rubato il telefono.

Rule of thumb: if a person loses something or is kept in the dark, use a or an indirect pronoun, never da.

The words
Taking away

Rubare (to steal) is the classic case. It works the same with a pronoun and with a full noun.

Mi hanno rubato il telefono sul treno.
(Someone stole my phone on the train.)
Hanno rubato la bici a Marco davanti alla scuola.
(They stole Marco's bike in front of the school.)

Prendere (to take) follows the same pattern when you take something away from someone.

Mio fratello mi ha preso il caricabatterie senza chiedere.
(My brother took my charger without asking.)

Togliere (to remove, to take away) uses a when you remove something from a person.

Togli il coltello al bambino!
(Take the knife away from the child!)

Expressions like portare via, sottrarre and strappare di mano work the same way: gli ha strappato di mano la borsa means 'he snatched the bag out of his hand'.

Hiding

Nascondere (to hide) puts the person who must not know or see after a. This is true both for hiding objects and for covering up facts or the truth.

Non nascondere niente a tua sorella.
(Don't hide anything from your sister.)
Per anni l'azienda ha nascosto i dati ai clienti.
(For years the company covered up the data from its customers.)
The opposite case: derubare

Derubare (to rob) turns the structure around. The victim is the direct object and the stolen thing is introduced by di, much like English 'rob someone of something'. Rapinare (to hold up, to mug) also takes the victim or place as a direct object.

Due ragazzi hanno derubato mia madre della borsa.
(Two boys robbed my mother of her bag.)
Watch out

Da is still correct for a place or physical starting point. You take something off the table or out of a drawer with da. The a rule only applies to people who lose something.

Togli i piedi dal tavolo!
(Take your feet off the table!)

An indirect pronoun with prendere can also mean 'for' someone. Context decides which meaning applies. Mi ha preso la penna usually means he took my pen, but in the right setting it could mean he fetched it for me.

Ti prendo un caffè?
(Shall I get you a coffee?)

Comprare has the same ambiguity. Ho comprato la macchina a Luca can mean 'from Luca' or 'for Luca', so to name the seller clearly Italians usually say da Luca.

Summary

When someone loses something, has it taken away or is kept from knowing it, Italian marks that person with a or an indirect pronoun: rubare, prendere, togliere, nascondere qualcosa a qualcuno. Keep da for places, and remember that derubare works the other way round: derubare qualcuno di qualcosa.