English / Italiano

Infinitives after verbs

English usually links a second verb with “to”. Italian can link a second verb in several ways: directly, with a, with di, or with per. The first verb usually determines which form you need.

Which link each verb takes

Link	After these verbs	Example
nothing	volere, potere, dovere, sapere, preferire, piacere	Voglio aiutare Carlo.
a	andare, venire, cominciare, imparare, riuscire, continuare, provare	Vado ad aiutare Carlo.
di	finire, cercare, decidere, sperare, smettere, dimenticare, pensare	Cerco di aiutare Carlo.
per	purpose, added to a clause that is already complete	Vado a Boston per aiutare Carlo.

A shortcut for per: if “in order to” fits in English, Italian usually uses per.
A becomes ad before a vowel, most often before another a: ad aiutare, ad andare.
Italian grammar calls volere, potere and dovere helper verbs (verbi servili). The diagrams here draw volere with a raised phrase to match English “want to”, and potere and dovere in the verb slot to match “can” and “must”.

English “going to” has two uses

Movement

“I’m going to Boston to help Carlo” involves actually going somewhere. Italian uses andare a + infinitive.
Vado ad aiutare Carlo. I’m going to help Carlo.
Vado a Boston ad aiutare Carlo. I’m going to Boston to help Carlo.

Future intention

“I’m going to help Carlo tomorrow” says what you intend to do. Italian normally uses the present or the future, not andare + infinitive.
Domani aiuto Carlo. I’m going to help Carlo tomorrow.
Domani aiuterò Carlo. I will help Carlo tomorrow.