Italian Verbs Followed by A: The Complete B1 List

🔍 In short. Italian verbs followed by a are the ones that need the preposition a before a second verb in the infinitive: comincio a capire, imparo a guidare, riesco a finire. They fall into two big meaning groups: verbs of beginning, continuing and movement (cominciare, andare, continuare, mettersi), and verbs of aptitude and striving (imparare, riuscire, provare, abituarsi). There is no rule that predicts a versus di from the meaning, so you learn the verb together with its preposition, the way you learned andare a from day one.

Get the italian verbs followed by a right and your B1 sentences stop sounding broken: no more provo di fare or comincio di capire. By the end you will know the two families, the causative pattern with an object, and why modal verbs take no preposition at all.

What “verb + a + infinitive” means

When two verbs meet in Italian, the second one usually goes in the infinitive, and the first one decides what, if anything, links them. Some verbs link with nothing (voglio partire), some with di (spero di partire), and a large family with a. The italian verbs followed by a are exactly that family: the governing verb requires the preposition a before the infinitive that depends on it.

The infinitive after these verbs often carries a sense of direction or goal: vado a chiamare il medico, ti invito a venire, l’ho mandato ad accompagnarvi. That “moving towards” flavour is the thread running through most of the italian verbs followed by a, and it is why so many of them involve motion, beginning or effort.

Group 1: beginning, continuing, movement

The first big family of italian verbs followed by a covers starting an action, keeping it going, and moving in order to do something. These are the highest-frequency ones, so learn this list first.

• Beginning: cominciare, incominciare, iniziare, mettersi, prendere (= to start). Mi metto a studiare appena torno.
  I will start studying as soon as I get back.
• Continuing: continuare, proseguire, seguitare, persistere. Continua a piovere, restiamo in biblioteca.
  It keeps raining, let us stay in the library.
• Movement towards an aim: andare, venire, correre, tornare, passare, fermarsi, restare. Andiamo a vedere la mostra al museo di Padova.
  Let us go and see the exhibition at the Padua museum.
• Succeeding: riuscire. Pietro non riesce a finire il restauro entro venerdì.
  Pietro cannot manage to finish the restoration by Friday.

Notice that several of these are verbi fraseologici: they add an aspect (start, continue, succeed) to the main action in the infinitive. Within the italian verbs followed by a, this group is the one you will use every single day.

Group 2: aptitude, learning, striving

The second family of italian verbs followed by a is about getting good at something, trying, and forcing yourself towards a goal. The “effort towards” idea is even clearer here.

• Learning and getting used to: imparare, insegnare, abituarsi, adattarsi, esercitarsi. Caterina ha imparato a cucire alla scuola di sartoria.
  Caterina learned to sew at the tailoring school.
• Trying and committing: provare, impegnarsi, decidersi, prepararsi, rinunciare. Provo a chiamare il meccanico, magari risponde.
  I will try to call the mechanic, maybe he answers.
• Aiming and persisting: aspirare, mirare, insistere, ostinarsi, tendere. Elena aspira a diventare restauratrice.
  Elena aspires to become a restorer.
• Hesitating and tiring: esitare, stancarsi, faticare. Comincio a stancarmi, facciamo una pausa.
  I am starting to get tired, let us take a break.

One useful pair to keep apart inside the italian verbs followed by a: provare a means “try to do” (an attempt), while provare di does not exist in this sense; “to try” plus infinitive is always provare a. Likewise imparare a, never imparare di.

Causative pattern: mandare, portare, invitare a

A special set of italian verbs followed by a takes a direct object that is also the subject of the infinitive: you send, bring, invite or force someone to do something.

• Ho mandato Matteo a ritirare il pacco alla posta.
  I sent Matteo to collect the parcel at the post office.
• Ti invito a venire a cena da noi a Lucca.
  I invite you to come to dinner at our place in Lucca.
• L’allenatore ci costringe a correre ogni mattina.
  The coach forces us to run every morning.
• Caterina mi ha aiutato a montare lo scaffale.
  Caterina helped me assemble the shelf.

The verbs in this pattern include mandare, portare, condurre, spedire, trascinare, invitare, costringere, obbligare, aiutare, incoraggiare, abituare, spingere. They are still italian verbs followed by a; the difference is only that an object person sits between the main verb and a.

A or di: is there a rule?

Honestly, no clean rule predicts the preposition from the meaning alone. Cominciare takes a, finire takes di, yet both are about phases of an action. The italian verbs followed by a simply have to be learned as a list, the same way English speakers learn “depend on” but “consist of”.

• Comincio a lavorare alle nove. but Finisco di lavorare alle sei.
  I start working at nine. but I finish working at six.
• Imparo a nuotare. but Smetto di fumare.
  I learn to swim. but I quit smoking.
• Riesco a capire. but Cerco di capire.
  I manage to understand. but I try to understand.

The practical strategy: when you meet a new verb that governs an infinitive, learn it as a chunk with its preposition (riuscire a, cercare di). Our companion guide on verbs that take di handles the other half; together they cover almost all the italian verbs followed by a or by di.

Why modal verbs take no preposition

One sharp contrast clears up a frequent error. The modal verbs dovere, potere, volere and sapere (= know how to) take the bare infinitive, no preposition: devo partire, posso entrare, voglio restare, so guidare. They are not part of the italian verbs followed by a.

• ❌ Devo a partire. ✅ Devo partire. (modal, no preposition)
• ✅ Comincio a partire is wrong only in meaning, but the structure shows the contrast: cominciare needs a, dovere does not.
• So guidare (skill, no preposition) vs imparo a guidare (one of the italian verbs followed by a).

So the mental sort is three-way: modals take nothing, one family takes a, another takes di. Knowing a verb is modal instantly tells you it is outside the italian verbs followed by a.

Replacing a + infinitive with ci

A neat shortcut: when the a + infinitive after one of the italian verbs followed by a is already known from context, you can replace the whole thing with the particle ci.

• Sei riuscito a superare l’esame? Sì, ci sono riuscito.
  Did you manage to pass the exam? Yes, I managed it.
• Hai provato a chiamarlo? Sì, ci ho provato.
  Did you try to call him? Yes, I tried.
• Ti abitui a vivere qui? Sì, mi ci sto abituando.
  Are you getting used to living here? Yes, I am getting used to it.

This ci stands for the a phrase, just as ne stands for a di phrase. It is one more sign that the preposition is genuinely part of how the italian verbs followed by a behave.

More verbs worth memorising

Beyond the two core families, a longer tail of italian verbs followed by a turns up at B1 and B2. They still fit the “effort or direction towards” idea, and they are worth adding to your list in small batches.

• Daring and venturing: azzardarsi, arrischiarsi, spingersi, accanirsi. Non ti azzardare a toccare i miei attrezzi.
  Do not you dare touch my tools.
• Toiling and dwelling: faticare, penare, indugiare, perdersi. Per l’età faticava a salire le scale.
  Because of his age he struggled to climb the stairs.
• Resolving and limiting: risolversi, rassegnarsi, limitarsi, ridursi. Alla fine si è risolto a vendere la casa di Modena.
  In the end he resolved to sell the Modena house.
• Enjoying and being right: divertirsi, godere, sbagliare, far bene. I bambini si divertono a correre nel cortile.
  The children enjoy running in the courtyard.

You do not need all of these at once. Add five at a time to the core list and the italian verbs followed by a become second nature within a few weeks of reading.

Set expressions: fare bene a, stare a, esserci

A handful of frozen expressions also belong to the italian verbs followed by a. They are not productive rules, just chunks to memorise as they are.

• Fai bene a riposarti, eri esausto.
  You are right to rest, you were exhausted. (fare bene / male / presto / tardi / in tempo a)
• Non stare a perdere tempo, devi lavorare.
  Do not waste time, you have to work. (stare a = to bother doing)
• Che c’è da ridere? Non c’è niente a cui pensare.
  What is there to laugh about? There is nothing to think about. (note the contrast with da)

The fare bene a and stare a patterns are extremely common in speech, so they pay off quickly. Treat them as fixed members of the italian verbs followed by a, learned whole rather than derived. A short daily reading habit, even ten minutes of a novel or a news article, is the fastest way to absorb which verb wants which preposition without drilling lists.

Cheat sheet: italian verbs followed by a

The high-frequency list on one card. Learn each verb together with its a.

Common mistakes English speakers make with italian verbs followed by a

• Using di instead of a. ❌ Comincio di capire. ✅ Comincio a capire.
• Dropping the preposition. ❌ Imparo guidare. ✅ Imparo a guidare.
• Adding a to a modal. ❌ Devo a partire. ✅ Devo partire.
• Provare di for “try to”. ❌ Provo di chiamare. ✅ Provo a chiamare.
• Forgetting the object in the causative pattern. ❌ Invito a venire (who?). ✅ Ti invito a venire.

For the full infinitive picture, see our guide on the Italian infinitive. For the preposition itself, Italian compound prepositions. For the verbs that take no preposition at all, Italian modal verbs. The institutional reference is the Accademia della Crusca note on valenze e reggenze dei verbi.

Dialog: at the Lucca driving school

Caterina takes a driving lesson; Pietro is the instructor at a driving school in Lucca. Watch the italian verbs followed by a across beginning, succeeding, learning and the causative pattern.

Count them: cominciare a, fare fatica a, aiutare a, continuare a, riuscire (ci), abituarsi a, imparare a, provare a, andare a, essere pronto a, impegnarsi a. One lesson runs the whole map of the italian verbs followed by a.

Test your understanding

A quiz on the italian verbs followed by a, the two families and the a-versus-di choice, is on its way. For now, redo the mini-challenge from memory and rebuild the cheat-sheet list.

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Frequently asked questions

Seven questions about the italian verbs followed by a come up in every B1 cohort. The answers draw on classroom usage and on the Accademia della Crusca note on valenze e reggenze dei verbi.

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Related guides

Three guides that pair with the italian verbs followed by a, plus an institutional reference.

• Italian Infinitive: the full di-or-a-before-the-infinitive picture.
• Italian Compound Prepositions: the preposition a in its other roles.
• Italian Modal Verbs: the verbs that take no preposition at all.
• Accademia della Crusca: valenze e reggenze dei verbi: institutional note.