🔍 In short. The italian infinitive is the base, unconjugated form of the verb: parlare, leggere, dormire. It has only two tenses, simple (amare) and compound (avere amato, essere andato). It does the work English splits across “to do”, “doing”, and “the doing”: after a modal it takes no preposition (devo partire), after most other verbs it needs di or a (spero di partire, comincio a capire), after a preposition it replaces a clause (prima di partire, dopo aver mangiato), and it can become a noun (il bere). It is also the negative tu imperative: non parlare!

Master the italian infinitive and a huge slice of real Italian opens up: verb chains, polite instructions, signs, and the everyday prima di / dopo aver patterns. This B1 guide is the hub.

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What the italian infinitive is

The italian infinitive is the verb’s dictionary form, the one ending in -are, -ere, or -ire: parlare, leggere, dormire. It is a non-finite form: it does not show person or number by itself, so it leans on another verb, a preposition, or a context to anchor who and when.

• Devo partire per Modena domani mattina presto.
  I have to leave for Modena early tomorrow morning. (after a modal)
• Spero di tornare a Lucca entro sera.
  I hope to get back to Lucca by evening. (after a verb + di)
• Prima di firmare, leggi il contratto con calma.
  Before signing, read the contract calmly. (after a preposition)

One Italian infinitive often replaces a whole English clause. Prima di partire = “before I leave / before leaving”; dopo aver mangiato = “after I had eaten”. This is the single biggest reason the italian infinitive feels alien at first: where English changes the verb form, Italian keeps the infinitive and lets a preposition do the work.

Simple and compound infinitive

The italian infinitive has exactly two tenses. The simple infinitive is one word (parlare). The compound (past) infinitive is built with the infinitive of the auxiliary avere or essere plus the past participle.

Verb	Simple	Compound (past)
parlare	parlare	avere parlato
leggere	leggere	avere letto
andare	andare	essere andato/a/i/e
alzarsi	alzarsi	essersi alzato/a/i/e

The compound infinitive marks an action completed before the main verb. The auxiliary follows the same essere/avere rule as the passato prossimo, and with essere the participle agrees: dopo essere arrivata, dopo essersi alzati. In speech the final -e of avere / essere usually drops: dopo aver mangiato, dopo esser tornato.

• Dopo aver firmato il contratto, Pietro ha ritirato le chiavi.
  After signing the contract, Pietro picked up the keys.
• Caterina è uscita dopo essersi alzata alle sei.
  Caterina went out after getting up at six.

After a verb with no preposition

One group of verbs takes the italian infinitive directly, with no preposition in between. These are the modals (dovere, potere, volere, sapere), the verbs of perception (vedere, sentire, guardare, ascoltare), fare and lasciare (causatives), and a few like preferire, desiderare, osare, gradire.

• Devo restituire il furgone entro le sei di sera.
  I have to return the van by six in the evening. (modal)
• Ho sentito piovere tutta la notte a Modena.
  I heard it raining all night in Modena. (perception)
• Caterina fa riparare la macchina da cucire ogni anno.
  Caterina has the sewing machine repaired every year. (fare + infinitive)
• Preferisco prendere il treno invece dell’auto.
  I prefer to take the train instead of the car.

There is no preposition to choose here, which makes this the easy group. The only trap: English inserts “to” (I have to return), Italian inserts nothing (devo restituire). Strip the “to” out of your head with these verbs.

After a verb: di or a

Most other verbs link to the italian infinitive through a preposition, and the verb decides whether it is di or a. There is no shortcut rule; it is learned verb by verb, but the families are fairly stable.

• + di: sperare, pensare, decidere, finire, smettere, cercare, credere, dimenticare. Caterina ha finito di cucire il vestito.
  Caterina finished sewing the dress.
• + a: cominciare, iniziare, imparare, riuscire, provare, continuare, aiutare. Pietro ha cominciato a leggere il nuovo Pennacchi.
  Pietro started reading the new Pennacchi.
• Elena ha imparato a guidare il furgone in una settimana.
  Elena learned to drive the van in a week.

Rough pattern: verbs of starting, moving toward, learning tend to take a (cominciare a, andare a, imparare a); verbs of opinion, ending, trying tend to take di (pensare di, smettere di, cercare di). When in doubt, check the verb; this is exactly the kind of detail a focused di-vs-a guide drills.

After a preposition: prima di, dopo aver, senza, invece di

This is where the italian infinitive replaces a full subordinate clause. After many prepositions and conjunctional phrases, Italian uses the infinitive instead of a conjugated verb, as long as the subject is the same as the main clause.

• Prima di partire, Pietro ha controllato l’olio.
  Before leaving, Pietro checked the oil.
• Dopo aver firmato, Elena ha ritirato le chiavi.
  After signing, Elena collected the keys.
• Senza prenotare non si entra al museo di Modena.
  Without booking you can’t get into the Modena museum.
• Invece di prendere l’auto, sono andato a piedi.
  Instead of taking the car, I walked.

Note the split: prima di takes the simple infinitive (prima di partire), dopo takes the compound (dopo aver mangiato, never “dopo mangiare”). Other frequent triggers: per (purpose: studio per imparare), al posto di, oltre a, tranne. If the subjects differ, swap the italian infinitive for a conjunction + finite verb.

Da + infinitive: obligation and use

Da + the italian infinitive is a high-frequency pattern that English renders in several different ways. It signals something to be done, a purpose, or a defining use.

• Ho ancora due moduli da firmare.
  I still have two forms to sign. (to be done)
• C’è molto da fare prima di restituire il furgone.
  There’s a lot to do before returning the van.
• Ti do qualcosa da leggere durante il viaggio.
  I’ll give you something to read during the trip.
• È una macchina da corsa, non da città.
  It’s a racing car, not a city car. (defining use)

The construction avere + da + infinitive can also carry obligation, close to dovere: ho da fare (“I have things to do / I’m busy”). The Accademia della Crusca treats avere da as a legitimate, slightly informal alternative to avere a. For an A2-B1 learner, recognise it and use the plain da fare / da leggere pattern, which is everywhere.

Stare per + infinitive: about to

One verbal periphrasis with the italian infinitive is too useful to skip: stare per + infinitive expresses an action on the very edge of happening, the English “to be about to”.

• Sbrigati, il treno per Modena sta per partire.
  Hurry up, the Modena train is about to leave.
• Stavo per chiamarti quando hai suonato il campanello.
  I was about to call you when you rang the bell.
• Caterina sta per finire il vestito, ancora due cuciture.
  Caterina is about to finish the dress, two more seams.

The near-synonym essere sul punto di + infinitive is a touch more formal: era sul punto di rinunciare. Both keep the italian infinitive bare after the linking word. This periphrasis is how Italian fills the gap English covers with “about to”, which has no single-word equivalent in the verb system.

Per and così da: purpose and result

The italian infinitive carries purpose and result clauses when the subject does not change. Per + infinitive is the everyday “(in order) to”; così da / in modo da + infinitive expresses the result aimed at.

• Studio l’italiano per leggere Pennacchi in lingua originale.
  I study Italian to read Pennacchi in the original.
• Pietro è partito presto per evitare il traffico.
  Pietro left early to avoid the traffic.
• Parla piano così da farti capire da tutti.
  Speak slowly so as to make yourself understood by everyone.

The rule is the familiar one: same subject, use the italian infinitive (studio per imparare); different subject, switch to perché + subjunctive (te lo spiego perché tu capisca). Per + the compound infinitive expresses a prior reason: è stato premiato per aver salvato l’azienda.

The infinitive as a noun: il bere, il fare

The italian infinitive can become a full noun, usually masculine singular, often with the article. It names the activity itself, the way English uses the -ing form (“smoking is bad”).

• Il bere troppo caffè la sera mi tiene sveglio.
  Drinking too much coffee in the evening keeps me awake.
• Il fumare è vietato in tutte le auto a noleggio.
  Smoking is forbidden in all rental cars.
• Con l’andare del tempo, Pietro ha imparato il mestiere.
  As time went by, Pietro learned the trade.

A few of these have frozen into ordinary nouns with their own plural: il dovere / i doveri (duty/duties), il piacere (pleasure), il potere (power), l’essere (the being), il dare e l’avere (debit and credit). When the infinitive keeps its own object it stays verbal (il bere caffè); when it behaves fully like a noun it can take adjectives and articles (un bel dormire).

Do not confuse the substantivised italian infinitive with the gerundio. As a subject or object, Italian uses the infinitive, not the -ndo form: il fumare fa male and fumare fa male (“smoking is bad”), never “fumando fa male”. English “-ing as a subject” maps onto the Italian infinitive, while the Italian gerundio covers “while/by doing”. Keeping that pairing straight removes one of the most persistent calques English speakers carry into Italian.

Non + infinitive: the negative tu order

One feature of the italian infinitive surprises every learner: the negative informal command. To tell one person (tu) not to do something, Italian does not negate the imperative; it uses non + the infinitive.

• Parla piano! Poi: Non parlare così in fretta!
  Speak slowly! Then: Don’t speak so fast!
• Firma qui. Poi: Non firmare prima di leggere.
  Sign here. Then: Don’t sign before reading.
• Non toccare i comandi mentre guido, per favore.
  Don’t touch the controls while I drive, please.

This is only for the tu form. The voi negative is regular (non parlate), and the formal Lei uses the subjunctive (non parli). On public signs the infinitive is also the standard impersonal order: non fumare, non calpestare l’erba, non sporgersi. Recognising non + the italian infinitive as a command, not a statement, is essential for reading everyday Italy.

Cheat sheet: italian infinitive

One table, the whole italian infinitive system. Keep it open while you build your next sentence.

Context	Rule	Example
Two tenses	simple / compound	parlare / avere parlato
Modal, perception, fare	no preposition	devo partire, sento piovere
Most verbs	di or a (by verb)	finire di, cominciare a
prima di	simple infinitive	prima di partire
dopo	compound infinitive	dopo aver mangiato
senza / invece di / per	infinitive (same subject)	senza pagare
da + infinitive	to be done / use	qualcosa da fare
as a noun	il + infinitive	il bere, il dovere
negative tu order	non + infinitive	non parlare!

Three common mistakes

Three slips with the italian infinitive flag a B1 sentence as written by a learner. They are the errors a native ear catches first, and fixing them is fast.

Mistake 1. A preposition after a modal. Wrong: devo di partire. Correct: devo partire. Modals take the bare infinitive, no “to”, no di, no a.

Mistake 2. Simple infinitive after dopo. Wrong: dopo mangiare. Correct: dopo aver mangiato. Dopo requires the compound infinitive.

Mistake 3. Negating the tu imperative directly. Wrong: non parla! Correct: non parlare! The negative informal command is non + infinitive.

Dialog: at the car rental

Pietro picks up a van at a Modena car rental. Elena, the clerk, runs through the paperwork. Count the italian infinitive forms: bare, with di/a, after prepositions, da + infinitive, negative order.

Count them: prima di firmare, controllare, spero di poter restituire, invece di sabato, basta avvisare, dopo aver firmato, da sapere, prima di partire, non fumare, non superare, il fumare, ho imparato a guidare, conviene fare, prima di restituirlo, evita. Every use of the italian infinitive in one short rental: bare, di/a, prepositions, da, noun, negative order.

Test your understanding

The quiz below drills the italian infinitive: simple vs compound, bare vs di vs a, prepositions, da + infinitive, the negative order. Take it after the cheat sheet.

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Frequently asked questions

Six questions about the italian infinitive come up in every B1 cohort. The answers below draw on real classroom usage and on the Crusca note Avere da o avere a + infinito?

Related guides

This hub on the italian infinitive links to guides that pair with it, plus an institutional reference on avere da + infinito.

• Italian Modal Verbs: the verbs that take a bare infinitive (devo partire).
• Italian Gerundio: the other non-finite form, and when it replaces the infinitive.
• Italian Imperative: why non + infinitive is the negative tu order.
• Accademia della Crusca: avere da o avere a + infinito?: institutional note on da + infinitive.