Italian Prepositional Verbs
In Italian, just like in English, many verbs require prepositions to connect to other verbs or nouns. This is why these verbs are called prepositional verbs.
The main representatives of this groups are the verbs cominciare (to start), continuare (to continue), and finire to finish) and their corresponding synonyms.
Most of these verbs have a double behavior: they are either classified as transitive verbs – when they are are followed by a noun – or as intransitive verbs – when they are used in a reflexive way or are followed by a preposition and an infinitive verb.
Let me show you an example:
Ho finito il libro che mi hai regalato.
I finished the book you gave me.
Ho finito di leggere il tuo libro.
I finished reading your book.
Il libro è finito.
The book ended.
As you can see, the way it is classified plays a role on the auxiliary selection. Before I dive into the explanation of these verbs, let me give you an overview of some of their characteristics:
- to express “to start” in Italian, there are two commonly used verbs: iniziare and cominciare. Both verbs share similar meanings and can often be used interchangeably, but subtle differences in usage and context exist.
- the same occurs with “to finish” in Italian: we can use finire and smettere. Again, both verbs imply that something is coming to an end, but they are used in slightly different contexts.
“To Start” in Italian
Iniziare a
The verb iniziare means “to start” or “to begin”. When it introduces an action, it is always followed by the preposition a and an infinitive verb. When it is used as a transitive verb, instead, it is followed by a noun.
Inizio a lavorare alle otto.
I start working at eight.
Iniziamo a studiare dopo pranzo.
We start studying after lunch.
Inizio il progetto domani.
I start the project tomorrow.
Cominciare a
Cominciare is another verb that translates to “to start” or “to begin”. It behaves similarly to iniziare and is also followed by a when connected to an infinitive verb or by a noun:
Comincio a studiare adesso.
I’m starting to study now.
Cominciamo a cucinare.
We are starting to cook.
Cominciamo la lezione alle nove.
We start the lesson at nine.
Cominciare vs Iniziare
While cominciare and iniziare are often interchangeable, cominciare tends to be used more frequently in casual, spoken Italian, and iniziare is often preferred in more formal or written contexts. Also, both verbs make use of the same preposition when used with infinitives.
“To Continue” in Italian
The verb continuare is used to indicate the continuation of an action or state. Just like the other two verbs we saw, continuare is followed by the preposition a when it introduces an infinitive verb, or it is followed by a noun.
Continuo a leggere il libro.
I continue to read the book.
Lui continua a parlare senza fermarsi.
He continues talking without stopping.
Continuiamo la conversazione dopo pranzo.
We’ll continue the conversation after lunch.
“To Finish” in Italian
Finire di
Finire means “to finish” or “to end”, and, again, it can either be followed by an infinitive verb or a noun. When it is followed by an infinite verb, it requires the preposition di to indicate the completion of an action.
Ho finito di lavorare alle sei.
I finished working at six.
Quando finisci di cucinare?
When will you finish cooking?
Finisco il libro stasera.
I’ll finish the book tonight.
Smettere di
Smettere also means “to end” but it conveys more a sense of stopping, on purpose, actively. It is used when you want to express that someone has voluntarily stopped an activity.
I am sure you were predicting it already, but let me stop you right here! Unlike all the other verbs we saw so far, smettere can only be followed by an infinitive verb, which requires it to be paired with the preposition di.
Ho smesso di fumare l’anno scorso.
I stopped smoking last year.
Smetti di parlare così forte!
Stop talking so loudly!
Finire vs Smettere
While both finire and smettere indicate the end of an action, finire is used to express the completion of an action, and smettere is used when someone decides to quit or stop doing something, often implying an interruption or a deliberate change of behavior.
“Essere” or “Avere”?
Choosing whether a verb requires the auxiliary verb essere or avere is an aspect of the Italian language with which at least 50% of learners struggle.
The easiest way to understand it in this context is to identify whether the verb is transitive or not. Are you wondering how? It is easy! Just look for a direct object. If you found it, it is transitive.
Aspectual verbs like iniziare, cominciare, continuare, finire (be careful: not smettere!) can behave both transitively and intransitively, depending on how they are used in a sentence.
When the verb has a direct object, that is, when the action is performed on something specific, it behaves as a transitive verb and takes avere as the auxiliary verb in compound tenses:
Ho iniziato la lezione.
I started the lesson.
In this case, there is a subject (io) and the verb iniziare is acting on the direct object la lezione, resulting in avere being used as the auxiliary verb.
When the verb does not have a direct object, when the action simply happens to the subject, without affecting something else, it behaves as an intransitive verb and takes essere as the auxiliary verb:
La lezione è iniziata.
The lesson started.
Here, the subject is la lezione itself, and iniziare does not act on an object. Instead, it is the subject that is undergoing the action of starting.
Other Italian Prepositional Verbs
In addition to these verbs, Italian includes many other verbs that require specific prepositions when followed by an infinitive. Some common examples include:
- Decidere di (to decide to):
- Pensare di (to think of)
- Provare a (to try to)
- Cercare di (to try to)
- Credere di (to believe)
- Avere bisogno di (to need)
