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### 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. 

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### 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**:

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

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### 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.

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Clitic climbing (lo comincio a fare)

adjective

adjective/adverb

adverb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

preposition

pronoun

proper noun

sentence

verb

Subject pronouns and the verb to be (io sono)

Singular definite articles (il, la)

Singular demonstratives (questo, questa)

Basic verbal negation (non)

Yes/No questions

Coordinating conjunctions (e, ma, o)

Regular plurals and definite articles (-i, -e, i, le)

Plural verb to be (noi siamo, voi siete)

Plural demonstratives (questi, queste)

Nouns ending in -e

Special singular articles (lo, l')

The plural article (gli)

Special indefinite articles (uno, un')

Demonstrative adjectives (quello, quella)

Adjective endings (-o, -a, -i, -e)

Expressing quantity (molto, poco, tanto)

The verb to have (ho, hai, ha...)

There is / there are (c'è, ci sono)

The preposition of (di)

Singular possessives (il mio, la mia)

Numbers 1 to 10 (uno, due, tre...)

Numbers 11 to 20 (undici, dodici...)

Numbers 21 to 100 (trenta, quaranta...)

Idiomatic avere (avere fame, avere anni)

Plural possessive adjectives (i miei, le mie)

Possessives with family members (mio padre)

Formal address (dare del Lei)

Present tense of -are verbs (-o, -i, -a)

Question words (chi, cosa, dove)

Present tense of -ere verbs (-o, -i, -e)

Question words (quando, come, perché)

Question word agreement (quanto, quanta, quanti, quante)

Regular -ire verbs

Verbs with -isc- (capisco, capisci, capisce)

Pronouns after prepositions (me, te, lui)

The verb fare (faccio, fai, fa)

The verb andare (vado, vai, va)

The verb stare (sto, stai, sta)

The verb venire (vengo, vieni, viene)

The verb uscire (esco, esci, esce)

Location and destination (a, in)

Origin and movement (da)

Articulated prepositions with a (al, alla)

Articulated prepositions with in (nel, nella)

Articulated prepositions with di and da (del, dal)

Simple prepositions (con, per, su, tra)

Articulated prepositions with su (sul, sulla)

Months of the year

Telling time (sono le...)

Dates (il + number)

Ordinal numbers 1st to 10th (primo, secondo, terzo...)

The verb to want (volere)

The verb can (potere)

The verb must (dovere)

The verb to know (sapere)

Reflexive verbs (mi lavo, ti lavi)

Indirect object pronouns (gli, le, ci...)

Expressing preferences (mi piace)

Plural preferences (mi piacciono)

Comparatives (più... di, meno... di)

The passato prossimo with avere (ho parlato)

Irregular past participles (fatto, letto, preso)

The passato prossimo with essere (sono andato)

Reflexive verbs in the past (mi sono svegliato)

Time adverbs with the past tense (già, mai, ancora)

Third-person direct object pronouns (lo, la, li, le)

First and second-person direct object pronouns (mi, ti, ci, vi)

The four seasons

Prepositions of place (vicino a, davanti a)

Conversational words (beh, allora, davvero)

Indefinite adjectives for some (qualche, alcuni)

Indefinite adjectives for every and all (ogni, tutti)

Indefinite pronouns (qualcosa, qualcuno)

Noun suffixes (-ino, -one)

Adverbs of manner (-mente)

Comparisons of equality (così... come)

The relative superlative (il più)

The absolute superlative (-issimo)

Irregular comparatives (migliore, peggiore)

Present progressive (stare + -ando, -endo)

Imminent actions (stare per)

The locative pronoun (ci)

The partitive pronoun (ne)

Pronoun placement with modal verbs

Impersonal subjects (si)

Prepositions of time (da, per, tra, fra)

Past participle agreement with pronouns

Question	Answer
the restoration	il restauro
This restoration requires a lot of time, but I am beginning to do it.	Questo restauro richiede molto tempo, ma lo comincio a fare.
The restoration is very difficult, but I continue to plan it.	Il restauro è molto difficile, ma lo continuo a pianificare.
rusty	arrugginito
The engine is rusty, so I am starting to clean it.	Il motore è arrugginito, quindi lo inizio a pulire.
These parts are rusty, except that I continue to use them.	Questi pezzi sono arrugginiti, solo che li continuo a usare.
the bodywork	la carrozzeria
The bodywork is ruined, but I will finish repairing it today.	La carrozzeria è rovinata, ma la finisco di riparare oggi.
Tomorrow I am starting to polish it.	Domani la comincio a lucidare.
to repaint	riverniciare
The car is old, therefore I am starting to repaint it.	L'auto è vecchia, perciò la inizio a riverniciare.
Half of the car is ready, but I am finishing repainting it tonight.	La metà della macchina è pronta, ma la finisco di riverniciare stasera.
the spare part	il ricambio
The spare parts are expensive, but I continue to look for them online.	I ricambi sono cari, ma li continuo a cercare online.
I do not have the spare parts, so I am starting to order them.	Non ho i ricambi, quindi li comincio a ordinare.
the upholstery	la tappezzeria
The upholstery is old, so I am beginning to change it.	La tappezzeria è vecchia, quindi la comincio a cambiare.
The upholstery takes a lot of time, but I am finishing restoring it soon.	La tappezzeria richiede tanto tempo, ma la finisco di restaurare presto.
the dashboard	il cruscotto
The dashboard is entirely broken; I am starting to disassemble it.	Il cruscotto è tutto rotto; lo inizio a smontare.
I bought the new dashboard, and I will finish mounting it today.	Ho comprato il cruscotto nuovo e lo finisco di montare oggi.
to reassemble	rimontare
The engine is clean, so I continue to reassemble it.	Il motore è pulito, quindi lo continuo a rimontare.
We are not reassembling the seats today, because we are starting to clean them.	Non rimontiamo i sedili oggi, perché li iniziamo a pulire.
meticulous	minuzioso
It is a meticulous job, but I continue doing it.	È un lavoro minuzioso, ma lo continuo a fare.
A meticulous restoration requires patience, and I am starting to have it.	Un restauro minuzioso richiede pazienza, e la comincio ad avere.
the enthusiast	l'appassionato
I am a car enthusiast, so I continue repairing them.	Sono un appassionato di auto, quindi le continuo a riparare.
Enthusiasts love this car, so they start restoring it immediately.	Gli appassionati amano questa macchina, quindi la iniziano a restaurare subito.
The bodywork is rusty, I am starting to restore it today.	La carrozzeria è arrugginita, la comincio a restaurare oggi.