B1 · Verb + infinitive
Verbs that take both a and di
The same verb twice, and the preposition is half the meaning.
At a glance
- Remember
- With these verbs the preposition is half the meaning.
- Form
- pensare ato think about
- Signal words
- pensare a
- pensare di
- cominciare da
- finire per
- decidersi a
- Trap
- Wrong:Dopo un'ora ha finito di capire.Right:Dopo un'ora ha finito per capire.
Your turn
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Now write it yourself4 sentences on this topic, typed and checked instantly.
The form
The forms and what they mean
Each row gives the meaning first, then the form in Italian.
| to think about | pensare a |
| to plan, to think of | pensare di |
| to begin to | cominciare a |
| to begin from | cominciare da |
| to stop doing | finire di |
| to end up doing | finire per |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is about
pensare a is thinking about, pensare di is planning or judging.
Penso a te. / Penso di partire domani.I am thinking of you. / I am thinking of leaving tomorrow.
cominciare a begins, cominciare da names the starting point.
Comincia a piovere. / Cominciamo dall’inizio.It is starting to rain. / Let us begin at the beginning.
finire di stops, finire per ends up doing it after all.
Finisci di mangiare. / Ha finito per accettare.Finish your food. / He ended up agreeing.
decidere di decides, decidersi a brings oneself to it.
Ho deciso di partire. / Mi sono deciso a parlargli.I decided to leave. / I brought myself to speak to him.
Example sentences
Cosa pensi di fare quest’estate?What are you thinking of doing this summer?
Pensa a chiudere la finestra.Remember to close the window.
Ha finito per capire.He ended up understanding.
A cosa serve? — Serve ad aprire le scatole.What is it for? — It is for opening tins.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
Ha finito di capire is nonsense — nobody stops understanding. What was meant is finito per: after much hesitation, he understood after all. English keeps the two apart with « finished » and « ended up », two different words, so the collision does not arise until the preposition has to be chosen here.
The full explanation
Read it all · about 1 min
Some verbs take a or di according to sense, and the preposition carries half the meaning. Pensare ais to think about somethingpensare diis to plan or to have an opinion — English marks the same difference with « think about » and « think of »
Cominciare astarts an actioncominciare danames the starting point Finire distopsfinire perends up doing it after all
Decidere diis the decisiondecidersi ais bringing oneself to do it Servire aserves a purposeservirsi dimakes use of something
The only way to hold these is in pairs. Learning the verbs one at a time means learning half of each.
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The verbs on this page, in every form: pensare · avere · finire · decidere · cominciare · servire · partire · essere