Unlike Italian, but similar to other Romance languages such as Spanish, Neapolitan marks definite, animate complements with the preposition "a"

The following examples are potentially confusing - in (c.) "tengo a muglierema" the literal translation is "I have to a wife." Tengo functions similarly to "I have" in English, however, its direct object must be marked by "a" when the object has a animate or definite element. With "wife" the human element is clear.

In Italian and Neapolitan, indirect objects are often marked by "a"; subsequently this can make differentiating between animate or definite direct and indirect objects challenging, as seen in the examples below:

"Verettemo a Catia" literally translates to "We saw to Catia" but clearly means "We saw Catia." In example (b.) "Screvettemo a Catia" could mean "We wrote to Catia" or "We wrote Catia" because the indirect object is obscured. To give an example in modern Italian, "Ho detto a te" means "I said to you" but can mean "I said you" or "I said it to you"

The confusion has led to the adoption of another form in modern Neapolitan. Indirect objects are now marked by the preposition, "vicino a" which translates to "next to" or "near"

The following examples show this marking of the indirect object. In (e.) something is said to the speakers children (vicin''e figlie mieie) and is marked by "vicin'". In example (a.) this is syntactically close to a possibility in Italian but the meaning is different. In Italian "vicino a la banca" means near or next to the bank. Interpreting this in the tradition Italian way it would mean that the person went next to or near the bank. In Neapolitan, it means simply that the person went to the bank, i.e. entered it.