A2 · What follows a verb
The bare infinitive
Want, can, must — and a dozen more.
After the modal verbs the infinitive follows with no preposition: voglio partire, posso venire, devo lavorare, so nuotare. English does the same after « can » and « must », and then inserts « to » after « want », which is where the habit starts to slip.
Then the verbs of liking and seeming: amare, preferire, desiderare, osare, sembrare, parere, piacere — but sperare takes di, which is worth learning apart from the rest.
And the verbs of perceiving and causing: vedere, sentire, guardare, ascoltare, fare, lasciare. Here English agrees for once: « I heard him sing », « I made him wait », both bare.
The negative attaches to the first verb: non voglio partire. To negate the infinitive itself, non stands in front of it: preferisco non rispondere.
Die Form
| to want | voglio partire |
| to be able to | posso venire |
| to like | mi piace viaggiare |
| to perceive | l’ho sentito cantare |
| the infinitive negated | preferisco non rispondere |
Die Regeln im Einzelnen
After the modal verbs the bare infinitive stands.
Deve partire prima di mezzogiorno.He has to leave before midday.
piacere takes the infinitive with no preposition.
Mi piace leggere la sera.I like reading in the evening.
After the verbs of perception it stands too.
L’ho sentito cantare.I heard him singing.
To negate the infinitive, non goes in front of it.
Mi ha chiesto di non insistere.She asked me not to insist.
Woran man es erkennt
- volere
- potere
- dovere
- sapere
- preferire
- piacere
- vedere
- sentire
- fare
- lasciare
Beispielsätze
Non so guidare la moto.I cannot ride a motorbike.
Preferisce aspettare fuori.She prefers to wait outside.
Li abbiamo visti uscire insieme.We saw them leave together.
Non oso dirglielo.I do not dare tell him.
Die typisch deutsche Falle
Aufgepasst
English « can » covers two Italian verbs and the choice is not free. Sapere plus an infinitive is « can » in the sense of having learnt how — so nuotare, I can swim. Potere is being allowed or having the chance: posso nuotare oggi, I can go swimming today. Since English says « can » for both, the wrong one comes out at exactly the moments when the difference matters.
Want, can, must, like — nothing in between.
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