| dare - to give |
|
ricevere - to receive |
do
dai
dà |
diamo
date
danno |
|
ricevo
ricevi
riceve |
riceviamo
ricevete
ricevono |
Infinitives followed by Prepositions
The following verbs require a or di when followed by another infinitive, although the preposition is not always translated into English.
| Verb + a + another infinitive |
|
Verb + di + another infinitive |
aiutare
andare
cominciare
continuare
correre
imparare
insegnare
invitare
mandare
passare
pensare
preparare
provare
risuscire
servire
stare
tornare
venire |
to help
to go
to begin
to continue
to run
to learn
to teach
to invite
to send
to stop by
to think of
to prepare
to try
to succeed
to be good for
to stay, stand
to return
to come |
|
aspettare
cercare
cessare
chiedere
comandare
credere
decidere
dimenticare
dire
domandare
finire
offrire
permettere
promettere
sapere
sognare
sperare
tentare |
to wait for
to look for
to cease
to ask
to command
to believe
to decide
to forget
to say, tell
to ask
to finish
to offer
to permit
to promise
to know
to dream
to hope
to try, attempt |
| seguire - to follow |
sèguo
sègui
sègue |
seguiamo
seguite
seguono |
The verb fare can be followed by an infinitive to express the idea of having someone do something or having something done. If the object is a noun, it follows the infinitive; but if the object is a pronoun, it precedes the verb fare. (Unless the object pronoun is loro, then it always follows the infinitive.) Note that farsi can also be used in a causative construction when one is having something done to oneself.
Abbiamo fatto fare quelle sedia. We had that chair made.
Faccio studiare i ragazzi. I make the boys study.
Li faccio studiare. I make them study.
Mi faccio tagliare i capelli. I'm having my hair cut.
When a causative sentence has two objects, the person being made to do something becomes the indirect object. In Italian, the indirect object is introduced by a.
Il maestro fa leggere lo studente. The teacher makes the student read.
Il maestro fa leggere la lettura allo studente. The teacher makes the student read the passage.
To avoid ambiguity with the indirect object, the preposition da instead of a can be used. The sentence Abbiamo fatto mandare il pacco a Maria can mean two things: 1) We had Mary send the package or 2) We had the package sent to Mary. If the first meaning is intended, then da can replace a.
Italian - To Give and to Receive, Infinitives followed by Prepositions, To Follow, Fare Causative
