Verbs with Specific Prepositions

Of all the topics in Italian grammar, verb-preposition pairings may be the most stubborn. There is no semantic pattern that predicts which preposition each verb takes. Pensare takes a (penso a te), parlare takes di (parlo di te), aspettare takes nothing (aspetto te), and contare takes su (conto su di te) — all four have something to do with people, but the prepositions are completely different. The pairings are lexical — encoded in the dictionary entry of each verb — and must be learned verb by verb.

This page is a reference. It groups the most common verbs by the preposition they govern, lists the high-frequency English-Italian mismatches, and gives a strategy for absorbing the system over time. You won't learn this page in one sitting; treat it as a place to come back to whenever you encounter a new verb and want to confirm its preposition.

1. Why this is so hard

Verb-preposition pairings are arbitrary in every language, but Italian is particularly unforgiving for two reasons:

1. English distributes its prepositions differently. Wait for, look for, listen to, look at, ask for, pay for are all multi-word verbs in English. In Italian, the corresponding verbs (aspettare, cercare, ascoltare, guardare, chiedere, pagare) take a direct object with no preposition. English speakers chronically overinsert prepositions: aspetto per Marco (wrong) instead of aspetto Marco.

2. The Italian preposition is often counterintuitive. Pensare a (think about) uses a, where English uses about. Credere a (believe) uses a, where English uses no preposition. Dipendere da (depend on) uses da, where English uses on. Innamorarsi di (fall in love with) uses di, where English uses with. None of these can be guessed from the English equivalent.

The only path is to memorize the pairings as fixed lexical units and let exposure reinforce them. The lists below are starting points; the real learning happens when you see a verb in a sentence, register its preposition, and store the pair.

2. Verbs that take A

The largest single class. Many of these are verbs that English would not associate with to.

The cluster of inceptive verbs (cominciare, iniziare, mettersi) all use a. The cluster of purpose-of-motion verbs (andare, venire, partire, tornare + a + infinitive) also uses a: vado a comprare il pane (I'm going to buy bread). The cluster of causative verbs (aiutare, obbligare, costringere, incoraggiare, invitare) all use a before the infinitive of what someone is forced or invited to do.

For the full treatment of a + verb pairings, see A with Verbs.

3. Verbs that take DI

Almost as common as a. Many of these introduce the infinitive of what someone hopes, decides, finishes, or stops doing.

A useful pattern: many of the di-verbs are about mental states (decidere, sperare, credere, pensare-as-plan, ricordarsi, accorgersi) and many others are about emotional states (aver paura, aver voglia, lamentarsi, vergognarsi, innamorarsi, fidarsi). This is a tendency, not a rule — credere a (with a) and pensare a (with a) are also mental verbs — but it gives you a soft pattern.

A very important contrast: pensare a vs. pensare di. Pensare a + person/thing means "to think about" (have someone or something in your mind). Pensare di + infinitive means "to plan to, to consider doing." Different prepositions, different meanings.

For the full di + verb treatment, see Di with Verbs.

4. Verbs that take DA

Smaller class, but high-frequency.

The semantic core: da with verbs typically marks separation, source, or motion-from. The verbs of motion-from (partire, uscire, arrivare, tornare, venire da) are predictable from the meaning of da itself. The reflexive verbs of distancing (difendersi da, proteggersi da, liberarsi da) are also intuitive once you see the pattern.

The trickiest one is dipendere da (depend on). English uses on, which would suggest Italian su, but Italian uses da. This is a high-frequency error.

5. Verbs that take PER

A small class, but several are very high-frequency.

A useful contrast: partire da vs. partire per. Partire da Roma is "to leave from Rome" (the source). Partire per Roma is "to leave for Rome" (the destination). Both are valid; the preposition determines the direction.

6. Verbs that take SU

The smallest class, but with a few very common items.

A small but distinctive feature: contare su di me / te / lui uses su di before personal pronouns, just like sopra di me, sotto di me. With nouns: conto sul tuo aiuto (with su directly contracted with il).

7. Verbs that take CON

Mostly social verbs.

A subtle pattern: with verbs of communication, con introduces the person you talk to (parlo con Marco — I talk with Marco) and di introduces the topic (parlo di Marco — I talk about Marco). The two prepositions can co-occur: parlo con Marco di lavoro (I'm talking with Marco about work).

A particular trap: congratularsi and complimentarsi both take con for the person, never a. Congratulare a Maria is wrong; the correct form is congratularmi con Maria (with reflexive) or fare le congratulazioni a Maria (different construction).

8. Verbs that take IN

Smaller class.

The contrast credere a vs. credere in is worth memorizing. Credere a + person or statement means "to believe (someone), to believe (something is true)" — credo a Marco (I believe Marco), credo alla sua storia (I believe his story). Credere in + abstract entity means "to believe in" in the sense of religious or ideological faith — credo in Dio (I believe in God), credo in te (I believe in you, in your abilities). Both are correct in their respective contexts.

9. The verbs that take NO preposition (and English does)

This is where Italian gets hostile to English speakers. A small group of very common verbs takes a direct object in Italian — no preposition at all — even though the English equivalent uses one.

These verbs take a direct object — Italian does not mark them with any preposition. Aspetto per Marco is one of the most common errors in beginner Italian; the correct form is the bare aspetto Marco.

A subtle complication: chiedere (to ask) takes both a direct object (the thing asked for) and an indirect object (the person asked, with a): chiedo un caffè a Marco (I ask Marco for a coffee). The thing is direct (no prep); the person is indirect (a).

10. The classic English-Italian mismatches

A consolidated table of the most common transfer errors.

These are the pairings that produce the most consistent errors in English-speaker Italian. Drilling them is more useful than drilling rare exotic verbs — these are the ones you will use every day.

11. A learning strategy

Don't try to memorize this whole page in a week. Better:

1. Pick five verbs at a time from one section (say, a-verbs) and use each in three sentences of your own.
2. Drill the contrasts first: pensare a vs. pensare di, credere a vs. credere in, partire da vs. partire per. The contrasts are where errors cluster.
3. Mark the "no preposition" verbs in a separate list and rehearse them often: aspettare, cercare, ascoltare, guardare, pagare, chiedere. These are the surest source of beginner errors.
4. Always learn a new verb with its preposition. When a dictionary entry says "pensare vt./vi.", check whether the relevant sense takes a or di and store the pair.
5. Read aloud. Verbs with prepositions form rhythmic chunks (penso-a-te, parlo-di-Marco, dipende-da-te). Hearing them as units makes them stick.

12. Common mistakes

13. The verbs that take NO preposition before infinitive

Worth a separate note: a small set of verbs takes the bare infinitive with no preposition at all.

The four modal verbs (volere, potere, dovere, sapere) and the small set of preference verbs (preferire, desiderare) take the infinitive directly. Voglio di partire is wrong; voglio partire is correct. This is one of the cleanest sub-rules in the system.

14. Summary

The verb-preposition system has no shortcut. The right strategy is:

1. Recognize that pairings are lexical, not semantic. Pensare a and parlare di both involve having someone in mind, but the prepositions are different.
2. Memorize verb + preposition as one unit. Never let yourself think of the verb without its preposition.
3. Drill the contrasts that produce errors: pensare a vs. pensare di, credere a vs. credere in, partire da vs. partire per.
4. Memorize the no-preposition verbs: aspettare, cercare, ascoltare, guardare, pagare, chiedere.
5. Use exposure. Read Italian aloud, listen to native speakers, and let the rhythmic chunks (penso-a-te, dipende-da-te, mi-fido-di-te) lodge in your ear.

Once you have the high-frequency pairings down, the rest of the system absorbs itself through use.

Where to go next

• A with Verbs — the deeper page on a
  • verbs, with the full inceptive and causative groups.
• Di with Verbs — the deeper page on di
  • verbs, with the cognitive and emotional groups.
• Prepositions: Overview — the broader map of the Italian preposition system.
• The Preposition A: Overview — the indirect-object marker and the companion to many verb pairings.
• The Preposition Di: Overview — the most common Italian preposition, with full coverage of di
  • infinitive.
• The Preposition Da: Overview — the source / origin preposition that pairs with dipendere, partire, uscire, tornare.