Verbs followed by prepositions

When linking two verbs together in Italian, it is often very straight forward: ex. voglio + andare. I want to go. On other occasions, however, you may have seen that when combining a conjugated verb with an infinitive or noun you need a preposition: ex imparo a scrivere l'italiano. I'm learning to write Italian.

Unfortunately, there is no substitute for experience (or memorization) when learning these prepositions, and it will take some time to learn them. This page is organized with resources to help you commit them to memory faster.

To learn verbs that are followed by prepositions watch the following video:

coming soon

Verbs & expressions followed by a

The following verbs require the preposition a before an infinitive or noun:

List Table

VerbDefinition
abituarsi ato get used to
andare ato go
assistere ato attend
assomigliare ato resemble
cominciare ato begin to
continuare ato continue to
credere ato believe in
dare fastidio ato bother
dare noia ato bother
decidersi ato decide to
essere attento/a ato be careful
essere pronto/a ato be ready to
essere ultimo/a ato be last
fare meglio ato be better off
fare attenzione ato pay attention to
fare vedere ato show
giocare ato play
imparare ato learn to
incoraggiare ato encourage to
interessarsi ato be interested in
insegnare ato teach
invitare ato invite
mandare ato send
mettersi ato start to
obbligare ato oblige, to compel
partecipare ato participate in
pensare ato think about
persuadere ato persuade to
preparare ato prepare to
provare ato try to
rinunciare ato give up
riuscire ato manage
servire ato be good for
stringere la mano ato shake hands with
tenere ato care about
venire ato come
volerci ato take, require

Verbs & expressions followed by di and an infinitive

The following verbs require the preposition di before an infinitive or noun:

List Table

VerbDefinition
accorgersi dito notice
aspettare dito wait
avere bisogno dito need
avere fretta dito be in a hurry
avere paura dito be afraid of
avere ragione dito have reason to
avere torto dito be wrong
avere vergogna dito be ashamed to
avere voglia dito feel like
cercare dito try
cessare dito stop
chiedere dito ask
consigliare dito advise
coprire dito cover with
decidere dito decide to
dimenticarsi dito forget to
discutere dito discuss
fidarsi dito trust
finire dito finish
innamorarsi dito fall in love with
occuparsi dito take care of
pensare dito plan to
preoccuparsi dito worry about
promettere dito promise to
rendersi conto dito realize
ricordarsi dito remember
ridere dito laugh at
riempire dito fill with
ringraziare dito thank for
soffrire dito suffer from
trattare dito deal with
vivere dito live on

Verbs & expressions followed by da and an infinitive

The following verbs require the preposition da before an infinitive:

List Table

VerbDefinition
allontanarsi dato distance oneself
dipendere dato depend on
divorziare dato divorce (someone)
partire dato leave from
uscire dato leave
venire dato come from

Verbs & expressions followed by su and an infinitive

The following verbs require the preposition su before an infinitive:

List Table

VerbDefinition
contare suto count on
giurare suto swear on
riflettere suto reflect on
scomettere suto bet on

Stare per and an infinitive:

To express that something is about to happen you can use the expression stare + per:

ex. Sembra che stia per piovere. It looks like it is going to rain.

ex. Sto per uscire I'm about to go out.