B1 · Verb + infinitive
Verb + a + infinitive
The verbs of starting, learning and managing.
At a glance
- Remember
- What starts, succeeds or goes somewhere takes a.
- Form
- comincia a piovereto begin
- Signal words
- cominciare a
- imparare a
- riuscire a
- continuare a
- andare a
- venire a
- mettersi a
- abituarsi a
- Trap
- Wrong:Comincia a arrivare gente.Right:Comincia ad arrivare gente.
Your turn
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The form
The patterns at a glance
Each row first says when or what the pattern is used for, then gives an example in Italian.
| to begin | comincia a piovere |
| to learn | impara a nuotare |
| to manage | riesco a capire |
| to carry on | continua a leggere |
| to go and do | vado a comprare il pane |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is aboutThe word that calls for it
The verbs of starting take a.
Comincia a piovere.It is starting to rain.
Those of learning and managing do too.
Sono riuscito a convincerlo.I managed to convince him.
The verbs of motion take a before the second verb.
Vado a prendere le chiavi.I am going to fetch the keys.
continuare a means to carry on; without a the phrase does not exist.
Continua a nevicare da ieri.It has been snowing non-stop since yesterday.
Example sentences
Impara a suonare il pianoforte.She is learning to play the piano.
Non riesco ad aprire questa porta.I cannot manage to open this door.
Si sono messi a correre sotto la pioggia.They started running in the rain.
Vieni a trovarci quando vuoi.Come and see us whenever you like.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
Before another a, a becomes ad: comincia ad arrivare gente, è andato ad abitare a Roma. That is the rule, and a arrivare stands out at once. Before the other vowels the d is optional — riesco ad aprire and riesco a aprire both appear in print. The same happens to e, which becomes ed before another e. English has one comparable habit, « a » turning into « an », and it is just as automatic.
The full explanation
Read it all · about 1 min
One group calls for a in front of the infinitive, and the core of it is easy to see: these are the verbs where something gets going or moves towards a goal.
Starting and carrying on: cominciare a, iniziare a, mettersi a, continuare a, tornare a. English allows both « begin to rain » and « begin raining »; here there is one form and one preposition.
Learning and managing: imparare a, insegnare a, abituarsi a, riuscire a, provare a.
And the verbs of motion, where English uses a bare infinitive of purpose or « and »: andare a, venire a, passare a, restare a. Vado a comprare il pane is « I am going to buy the bread » in the literal sense — walking there — and the a is not optional.
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The verbs on this page, in every form: essere · riuscire · andare · venire · cominciare · volere · prendere · aprire