The Italian preposition da means "from" in English. This preposition is used in time expressions, in which case you may translate it as "since" or "for." Italian uses the construction of present tense da time expressions to indicate an action that began in the past and is still going on in the present. For example:

Da quanto tempo leggi questa rivista? (How long have you been reading this magazine?)

Leggo questa rivista da molto tempo. (Ive been reading this magazine for a long time.)

Da is also used in the following instances:

1. To express the equivalent of the English phrase "at the house of":

Vado dal fratello. (Im going to my brothers house.)

Vado da Filippo. (Im going to Filippos house.)

Andiamo dai signori Rossi. (Were going to the Rossis house.)

Andiamo da Gino. (Were going to Ginos house.)

2. To indicate origin or source:

Vengo da Torino. (I come from Torino.)

Vengo dalla Francia. (I come from France.)