The Infinitive in Italian
The infinitive in Italian is the most basic, non-conjugated form of a verb. In linguistics, it is classified as a non-finite mood, which means it doesn’t indicate a specific person, number, or tense.
The infinitive is the form you will find in dictionaries, and it’s where all conjugation stems from. In Italian, the infinitive mood is divided into two verb tenses:
- Present Infinitive: it indicates an action happening in the present or near future.
- Past Infinitive: it is the corresponding compound tense, and it indicates an action that occurred before another action in the past.
Present Infinitive in Italian
The present infinitive is the most fundamental form of the verb that students first learn when starting Italian. This form is used to indicate the general meaning of a verb.
In fact, as I mentioned before, the infinitive mood does not really convey any relevant grammatical information, but rather a semantic one.
In English, the present infinitive often corresponds to the verb form preceded by “to”, like to eat, to sleep, or to read. In Italian, all infinitive verbs end in one of three endings: -are, -ere, or -ire.
Therefore, the present infinitive is what we rely on to divide verbs into the three verb conjugation group and help determine how they will be conjugated across different tenses, for example:
- Mangiare (to eat)
- Leggere (to read)
- Dormire (to sleep)
The present infinitive has several key functions in Italian, making it a versatile and important part of the language. Below, I will explore the different contexts in which the present infinitive is used.
How to Use the Present Infinitive in Italian
As a Subject
In Italian, the infinitive can be used as the subject of a sentence. It is different from English, where the -ing form is generally used with this purpose.
Understanding this will be particularly useful to study verbs like piacere (to like), mancare (to miss), sembrare (to seem), and below I will show you why:
Mangiare troppo è un errore.
Eating too much is a mistake.
Studiare è importante.
Studying is important.
Mi piace ballare.
I like dancing.
In the first two sentences, the constructions mirror the English use of the gerund as a subject. In the last sentence, where the verb piacere is used, the subject is the verb ballare (to dance), which is indeed conjugated in the present infinitive tense.
After Prepositions
Another common use of the present infinitive in Italian is after prepositions. When using prepositions like di, a, per, and da, the verb that follows is almost always in the infinitive form. For example:
Studio per imparare.
I study to learn.
Vado a vedere il film.
I’m going to see the movie.
The direct consequence is that the present infinitive is always found after constructions like essere facile da (to be easy to), essere difficile da (to be hard to), niente da (nothing to), stare per (be about to), and others.
Moreover, there are specific types of verbs that are always followed by a preposition and, therefore, also by a present infinitive. These are some of these verbs:
- Cominciare a (to start)
- Iniziare a (to begin)
- Continuare a (to carry on, to continue)
- Credere di (to believe)
- Cercare di (to try)
- Provare a (to try)
- Finire di (to finish)
- Smettere di (to stop)
After Modal Verbs
One of the most important and frequent uses of the present infinitive is after modal verbs. Modal verbs, like volere (to want), potere (can; to be able to), dovere (to have to), and sapere (to know how) are always followed by an infinitive in Italian.
This structure is consistent with English, where modal verbs are followed by the base form of a verb, for example:
Ho fame. Voglio mangiare.
I am hungry. I want to eat.
Puoi venire qui un secondo?
Can you come here just a second?
Devo studiare ma non ho tempo.
I have to study but I have no time.
So sciare bene ma non c’è la neve nella mia città.
I know how to ski but there is no snow in my city.
To Give Negative Orders
Another important use of the present infinitive in Italian is to give informal negative orders, therefore when it is used as an informal negative imperative.
In Italian, if you want to give someone an order using the negative form, you simply follow this structure:
- non + infinitive verb
Here are some examples:
Non venire troppo tardi!
Don’t come too late!
Non parlare con la bocca piena!
Don’t talk with your mouth full!
