Clitic climbing (lo comincio a fare)

Aspectual Verbs

Aspectual verbs describe the phase of an action—such as starting, continuing, or finishing. In Italian, common aspectual verbs include iniziare a (to start to), cominciare a (to begin to), continuare a (to continue to), and finire di (to finish). They are always followed by a preposition and an infinitive verb.

Clitic Climbing

When using a direct object pronoun (like lo, la, li, or le) with an aspectual verb and an infinitive, you have a choice. You can attach the pronoun to the end of the infinitive, or you can place it entirely in front of the conjugated aspectual verb.

Moving the pronoun to the front is very common in everyday spoken Italian, especially when talking about ongoing actions like a long-term restoration project.

Working with Different Pronouns

This structure works exactly the same way for feminine and plural pronouns. Just match the pronoun to the noun you are replacing and place it before the conjugated verb.

For a feminine singular noun like la carrozzeria (the bodywork), use la:

For plural nouns like i ricambi (the spare parts) or feminine plural objects, use li and le:

Different Prepositions

Notice that while cominciare, iniziare, and continuare pair with the preposition a, finire pairs with di. The clitic climbing rule remains exactly the same regardless of the preposition used.