The verb pensare is one of the great traps of Italian. It looks innocent — it means "to think" — but it takes two different prepositions, a and di, with completely different meanings. Even worse, di itself has two distinct uses: one for plans and one for opinions about things. Get the prepositions wrong and you say something either nonsensical or unintentionally hilarious.
This page untangles the three constructions and shows you how to choose the right one every time. The good news: the rule is mechanical once you understand the underlying logic.
The core distinction at a glance
| Construction | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
pensare a
| have on one's mind | Penso a Marco. |
| pensare a | think about (a topic) | Penso a cosa fare. |
| pensare di | plan / intend to do | Penso di partire. |
pensare di
| have an opinion about | Cosa pensi di questo film? |
| pensare che | have the opinion that | Penso che sia vero. |
Pensare a: things on your mind
Pensare a is what you use when something is occupying your thoughts — a person, a problem, a memory, a plan in the abstract sense. The thing you're thinking about is the indirect object, marked with a.
Penso spesso a mia nonna, anche se è morta dieci anni fa.
I often think of my grandmother, even though she died ten years ago.
Non riesco a dormire, penso al lavoro tutto il tempo.
I can't sleep, I think about work all the time.
Pensa a tutto quello che hai passato — sei stato bravissimo.
Think about everything you've been through — you've been amazing.
It also works with indirect questions (introduced by cosa, come, dove, se):
Sto pensando a cosa preparare per la cena.
I'm thinking about what to cook for dinner.
Non ho ancora pensato a come gli darò la notizia.
I haven't yet thought about how I'll break the news to him.
The clitic ci
The pronoun ci routinely replaces a + thing, giving the very common expression ci penso io ("I'll take care of it"):
Non ti preoccupare delle bevande, ci penso io.
Don't worry about the drinks, I'll take care of it.
Ai biglietti ci pensa Marco.
Marco is taking care of the tickets.
Ci sto ancora pensando, dammi un giorno.
I'm still thinking about it, give me a day.
Pensare di + infinitive: plans
When di is followed by an infinitive, pensare di means "be considering doing" or "plan to do." The subject of pensare is also the doer of the planned action.
Penso di andare al cinema stasera.
I'm thinking of going to the cinema tonight.
Pensavamo di trasferirci in campagna l'anno prossimo.
We were thinking of moving to the countryside next year.
Cosa pensi di fare dopo l'università?
What are you thinking of doing after university?
Non penso di andarci, sono troppo stanca.
I'm not thinking of going there, I'm too tired.
This construction is purely about intention — it has nothing to do with belief. If you said penso a partire, you would be using the wrong preposition and an Italian speaker would either correct you or just be confused.
Pensare di + noun phrase: opinions about things
The third construction uses di with a noun phrase to ask or state an opinion about something. The English equivalent is "what do you think of...?" or "I think X of...":
Cosa pensi di questo libro?
What do you think of this book?
Penso molto bene del nuovo direttore.
I think very highly of the new director.
Cosa pensa la tua famiglia di Marco?
What does your family think of Marco?
This is a fixed pattern: when you want an opinion about a thing or person, you ask with di, never with a.
The pensare di vs credere di trap
Here's where things get genuinely subtle. Pensare di + infinitive and credere di + infinitive look identical on the page but mean very different things:
| Construction | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| pensare di + infinito | plan to do (intention) | Penso di partire domani. |
| credere di + infinito | think one is doing (belief about a fact) | Credo di conoscerlo. |
Pensare di partire = "I'm planning to leave." It's about intention.
Credere di partire would be very strange — you don't normally have beliefs about your own intentions. Instead, credere di + infinitive expresses a belief about a current fact:
Credo di conoscerlo, ma non ricordo da dove.
I think I know him, but I don't remember from where.
Credo di aver lasciato le chiavi a casa.
I think I've left my keys at home.
Crede di essere il più intelligente della classe.
He thinks he's the smartest in the class.
Pensare che vs pensare di + infinitive
When you want to express an opinion about a state of affairs, use pensare che + congiuntivo:
Penso che sia tardi.
I think it's late.
Penso che Marco abbia ragione.
I think Marco is right.
But when both verbs share the same subject, switch to pensare di + infinitivo:
Penso di sapere la risposta.
I think I know the answer. (NOT *penso che io sappia*)
This is the universal Italian rule for verbs that take a sentential complement: same subject = di + infinitivo. See the thought verbs overview for the full pattern.
A practical decision flowchart
When you reach for pensare, ask yourself:
- Am I expressing an opinion about a fact? → pensare che
- congiuntivo (or, if same subject as the embedded action, pensare di
- infinitivo).
- congiuntivo (or, if same subject as the embedded action, pensare di
- Am I describing what's on my mind (a person, a topic, a memory)? → pensare a
- thing.
- Am I describing a plan or intention I have? → pensare di
- infinitivo.
- Am I asking what someone thinks of a person or thing? → pensare di
- noun phrase.
Penso che lui sia gentile.
I think he's kind. (opinion about a fact)
Penso a lui ogni giorno.
I think of him every day. (he's on my mind)
Penso di chiamarlo stasera.
I'm thinking of calling him tonight. (plan)
Cosa pensi di lui?
What do you think of him? (opinion about him)
Common mistakes
❌ Penso a partire domani.
Incorrect — for a plan, use pensare di, not pensare a.
✅ Penso di partire domani.
Correct — pensare di + infinitivo for plans.
❌ Penso spesso di mia madre.
Incorrect — for someone on your mind, use pensare a, not pensare di.
✅ Penso spesso a mia madre.
Correct — pensare a + person for thinking of someone.
❌ Cosa pensi a questo libro?
Incorrect — for opinions about things, use pensare di, not pensare a.
✅ Cosa pensi di questo libro?
Correct — pensare di for opinions about things.
❌ Credo di partire domani.
Awkward — for an intention, use pensare di. Credere di is for beliefs about facts.
✅ Penso di partire domani.
Correct — penso = I plan; credo di expresses belief, not intention.
❌ Penso che io abbia ragione.
Incorrect — same subject takes di + infinitivo, not che + congiuntivo.
✅ Penso di aver ragione.
Correct — same-subject infinitive.
Key takeaways
Pensare has three distinct prepositional patterns. Three points to lock in:
Pensare a = on your mind. People, problems, topics, memories — anything occupying your thoughts. Often replaced by the clitic ci: ci penso io.
Pensare di + infinitive = plan. Pure intention, no belief involved. Penso di partire means "I'm planning to leave," nothing else.
Pensare di + noun = opinion about. Asking cosa pensi di...? asks for someone's evaluation of a thing or person. Always di, never a.
The three are not interchangeable, and the choice of preposition completely changes the meaning. Drill the patterns above with real situations until they feel automatic. For the rest of the thought-verb family, see the overview; for the closely related credere di ("to believe one is doing"), see the thought verbs complete reference.
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Open the Italian course →Related Topics
- Thought Verbs (pensare, credere, ritenere, immaginare)B1 — The family of Italian verbs that report opinions, beliefs, and mental states — and the fundamental rule that opinion triggers the subjunctive while certainty triggers the indicative.
- Thought Verbs: Complete ReferenceB1 — A consolidated reference to the fifteen most important Italian verbs of thought, memory, and reasoning — with their syntactic frames, mood requirements, and the prepositions they take.