You’ve meticulously memorized your verb conjugations. You can order a cappuccino with confidence. But then you try to say something slightly more complex, like “I started to learn Italian”, and you freeze. Is it “Ho iniziato a imparare” or “Ho iniziato di imparare”?

Welcome to one of the most maddening hurdles in Italian: the tiny, seemingly random prepositions that follow a verb. These little words, often a or di, are the glue that connects a main verb to a subsequent action (another verb in the infinitive). While there’s no single magic rule, don’t despair! There are distinct patterns and logical groups that, once you see them, will bring a new level of fluency and confidence to your speech.

Let’s demystify the great “a or di” debate.

The Basic Structure: Verb + Preposition + Infinitive

The grammatical pattern we’re tackling is Verbo + preposizione + verbo all'infinito. For example:

• Vado a mangiare. (I’m going to eat.)
• Penso di partire. (I’m thinking of leaving.)

The challenge is knowing which preposition belongs with which verb. Think of the verb and its preposition as a single unit, a “verb phrase” that you should learn together. We’ll break them down into categories.

When to Use ‘A’

The preposition a often implies movement towards an action, a beginning, or a preparation for something. If you can sense a shift or a purpose, ‘a’ is often your best bet.

1. Verbs of Beginning, Continuing, and Staying

If you’re starting, continuing, or even hurrying to do something, you’ll almost always use a.

• cominciare a / iniziare a (to begin/start to)
  • Domani comincio a studiare per l’esame. (Tomorrow I’ll start to study for the exam.)
  • Ha iniziato a piovere. (It started to rain.)
• continuare a (to continue to)
  • Nonostante la stanchezza, ha continuato a lavorare. (Despite being tired, he continued to work.)
• mettersi a (to start/get down to doing something)
  • Appena arrivato a casa, mi sono messo a cucinare. (As soon as I got home, I started cooking.)
• restare a / rimanere a (to stay to do something)
  • Resto a guardare il film con te. (I’ll stay and watch the movie with you.)

2. Verbs of Movement (Going to Do Something)

This is one of the most intuitive categories. When you’re going somewhere with the purpose of performing an action, use a.

• andare a (to go to)
  • Stasera andiamo a mangiare una pizza. (Tonight we’re going to eat a pizza.)
• venire a (to come to)
  • Vieni a trovarmi quando vuoi! (Come visit me whenever you want!)
• correre a (to run to)
  • Devo correre a prendere il treno! (I have to run to catch the train!)
• tornare a (to return to)
  • Dopo le vacanze, torno a lavorare. (After the holidays, I’m going back to work.)

3. Verbs of Effort, Learning, and Preparation

These verbs involve preparing for, trying, or succeeding at an action.

• provare a (to try to)
  • Prova a sollevare la valigia, è pesante. (Try to lift the suitcase, it’s heavy.)
• riuscire a (to manage to, to succeed in)
  • Finalmente sono riuscito a risolvere il problema. (I finally managed to solve the problem.)
• imparare a (to learn to)
  • Mio figlio sta imparando a nuotare. (My son is learning to swim.)
• aiutare (qualcuno) a (to help someone to)
  • Mi aiuti a portare queste borse? (Can you help me to carry these bags?)

When to Use ‘DI’

The preposition di often follows verbs related to expression, thought, or opinion. It can also be seen as the opposite of ‘a’ when it comes to finishing or stopping an action.

1. Verbs of Expression and Opinion (Thinking and Saying)

If you’re expressing a thought, hope, belief, or command, you’ll need di.

• pensare di (to think of/about)
  • Penso di andare al cinema domani. (I’m thinking of going to the cinema tomorrow.)
• credere di (to believe that one…)
  • Credo di aver capito la lezione. (I believe I’ve understood the lesson.)
• dire di (to say to/to tell to)
  • Il dottore mi ha detto di riposare. (The doctor told me to rest.)
• sperare di (to hope to)
  • Spero di vederti presto. (I hope to see you soon.)

2. Verbs of Finishing or Stopping

This is the logical counterpart to the “beginning” verbs that take ‘a’.

• finire di (to finish)
  • Quando finisci di lavorare? (When do you finish working?)
• smettere di (to stop/quit)
  • Devi smettere di fumare! (You have to stop smoking!)
• cessare di (to cease to)
  • La pioggia non cessava di cadere. (The rain wouldn’t cease to fall.)

3. Verbs of Decision, Memory, and Promise

These verbs involve a mental commitment or a state of mind.

• decidere di (to decide to)
  • Abbiamo deciso di comprare una casa nuova. (We’ve decided to buy a new house.)
• dimenticare di (to forget to)
  • Ho dimenticato di chiamarti ieri, scusa! (I forgot to call you yesterday, sorry!)
• ricordare di / ricordarsi di (to remember to)
  • Ricordati di chiudere la porta a chiave. (Remember to lock the door.)
• promettere di (to promise to)
  • Mi hai promesso di aiutarmi. (You promised to help me.)

The Exceptions and Special Cases

Of course, it wouldn’t be a language without a few quirks!

The “Inizio a/di” Question

So, back to our original question. Do you say inizio a or inizio di? While you might occasionally hear inizio di in some regional dialects or older literature, the modern, standard, and overwhelmingly correct choice when followed by an infinitive is iniziare a. The same goes for cominciare a. Stick with ‘a’ for these, and you’ll always be right.

Verbs That Take NO Preposition

Some of the most common verbs, the modal (or “helping”) verbs, connect directly to an infinitive without any preposition at all. Be careful not to add one!

• potere (can, to be able to): Posso entrare?
• volere (to want): Voglio dormire.
• dovere (must, to have to): Devo andare.
• sapere (to know how to): So nuotare.

Verbs of preference like preferire (to prefer) and piacere (to like) also fall into this category: Preferisco restare a casa. / Mi piace leggere.

Verbs That Change Meaning

Sometimes the preposition isn’t just a grammatical requirement; it changes the verb’s meaning entirely. The classic example is cercare.

• Cercare (without preposition) = to look for, to search for
  • Cerco le mie chiavi. (I’m looking for my keys.)
• Cercare di = to try to, to attempt to
  • Cerco di capire la tua logica. (I’m trying to understand your logic.)

Your Strategy for Mastery

How do you commit all this to memory? Don’t just drill raw lists.

1. Learn in Chunks: Don’t memorize “finire.” Memorize “finire di.” Treat the verb and its preposition as a single unit.
2. Look for Patterns: Use the categories above. Associate ‘a’ with movement and starting, and ‘di’ with thinking and finishing.
3. Listen and Read: The more you expose yourself to authentic Italian, the more these pairings will sound “right” to your ear. You’ll develop an intuition for them.
4. Practice with Purpose: Write your own sentences. Talk to yourself. Describe your day: “Prima, ho provato a fare colazione, poi ho iniziato a lavorare. Spero di finire presto per andare a fare una passeggiata.”

Mastering verb-preposition pairs is a significant step towards sounding less like a student and more like a fluent speaker. It’s the subtle detail that makes sentences flow. So next time you hesitate, think about the meaning and the pattern. Is it a start or a finish? A thought or a movement? You’ve got this. Continua a provare!