Stare per + Infinitive in Italian

In Brief

Use a form of stare + per + infinitive to say that someone or something is about to do something: Sto per uscire means “I’m about to go out.” Conjugate stare for the person and time, but leave the following verb in the infinitive: stanno per arrivare, stavo per chiamarti.

Overview

Stare per + infinitive presents an action as imminent: it is expected to happen very soon, or it was on the point of happening at a particular moment in the past. The infinitive is the basic, unconjugated form of a verb, such as partire (“to leave”), iniziare (“to begin”), or piovere (“to rain”).

This A2 construction is especially useful in everyday conversation. It lets you warn someone that a train is about to leave, explain that dinner is nearly ready, or describe what you were just going to do when something interrupted you. It often corresponds neatly to English be about to, but English “going to” is broader: it can describe plans well beyond the immediate future, while Italian stare per normally emphasizes closeness to the event.

The beginner rule is simple: choose the right form of stare, add the fixed preposition per, and then use an infinitive. The most useful tenses are the present (sto per uscire) and the imperfect (stavo per uscire). The imperfect is a past tense often used to show an action or situation that was in progress; here it sets up an action that was imminent at that past moment.

How It Works

The basic pattern is:

subject + stare (conjugated) + per + infinitive

Only stare agrees with the subject. The infinitive does not change.

Part	Function	Example
Il treno	subject: who or what is involved	Il treno
sta	conjugated form of stare	sta
per	fixed preposition	per
partire	infinitive: the imminent action	partire

The complete sentence is Il treno sta per partire: “The train is about to leave.” Do not conjugate both verbs, and do not omit per.

Present tense: something is about to happen

Use the present of stare when the action is imminent now.

Person	Form of stare	Example	English
io	sto	Sto per partire.	I’m about to leave.
tu	stai	Stai per partire.	You’re about to leave.
lui / lei / Lei	sta	Sta per partire.	He/She is; You are about to leave.
noi	stiamo	Stiamo per partire.	We’re about to leave.
voi	state	State per partire.	You’re about to leave.
loro	stanno	Stanno per partire.	They’re about to leave.

Italian often leaves out the subject pronoun because the verb ending identifies the person. Thus Sto per uscire is more neutral than Io sto per uscire. State the pronoun when you need emphasis or contrast: Io sto per uscire; Marta resta qui (“I’m about to go out; Marta is staying here”).

The construction also works with events that have no human agent:

• Sta per piovere. — “It’s about to rain.”
• Il negozio sta per chiudere. — “The shop is about to close.”
• Le vacanze stanno per finire. — “The holidays are about to end.”

Imperfect: something was about to happen

Use the imperfect of stare to look back at an action that was imminent then.

Person	Form	Example	English
io	stavo	Stavo per uscire.	I was about to go out.
tu	stavi	Stavi per uscire.	You were about to go out.
lui / lei / Lei	stava	Stava per uscire.	He/She was; You were about to go out.
noi	stavamo	Stavamo per uscire.	We were about to go out.
voi	stavate	Stavate per uscire.	You were about to go out.
loro	stavano	Stavano per uscire.	They were about to go out.

This form frequently introduces an interruption with quando (“when”):

Stavo per uscire quando è suonato il telefono.
“I was about to go out when the phone rang.”

The construction itself says only that leaving was imminent. It does not tell us whether the person eventually left. The surrounding context supplies that information.

Questions and negatives

Questions keep the same word order as statements; speech intonation or a question mark marks the question:

• Stai per uscire? — “Are you about to go out?”
• Il film sta per iniziare? — “Is the movie about to start?”

Put non before stare to make the construction negative:

• Il film non sta per iniziare. — “The movie isn’t about to start.”
• Non sto per arrendermi. — “I’m not about to give up.”

That second pattern can mean more than simple timing. Like English “I’m not about to…,” it may strongly reject an intention: the speaker has no intention of giving up.

Pronouns with the infinitive

An object pronoun is a short word standing for the person or thing affected by the action. With this construction, it can normally attach to the infinitive or go before stare:

• Sto per chiamarlo. / Lo sto per chiamare. — “I’m about to call him.”
• Stiamo per comprarla. / La stiamo per comprare. — “We’re about to buy it.”

With a reflexive verb—one whose action refers back to the subject—the same two positions are possible:

• Sto per alzarmi. / Mi sto per alzare. — “I’m about to get up.”
• Stavano per addormentarsi. / Si stavano per addormentare. — “They were about to fall asleep.”

For learners, attaching the pronoun to the infinitive is often the easiest pattern to remember: chiamarlo, alzarmi, addormentarsi.

Examples in Context

Italian	English	Note
Sto per uscire.	I’m about to go out.	Present, first person singular
Il film sta per iniziare.	The movie is about to start.	An event beginning soon
Stanno per arrivare.	They’re about to arrive.	Present, third person plural
Sbrigati: il treno sta per partire.	Hurry: the train is about to leave.	A warning about an imminent event
Credo che stia per piovere.	I think it’s about to rain.	The form after credo che is discussed below
La cena è quasi pronta; stiamo per mangiare.	Dinner is almost ready; we’re about to eat.	Immediate shared action
State per chiudere il negozio?	Are you about to close the shop?	Question, second person plural
Ti richiamo dopo: sto per entrare in riunione.	I’ll call you back later: I’m about to go into a meeting.	Common conversational context
Stavo per chiamarti.	I was about to call you.	Imminent at a past moment
Stavo per uscire quando hai bussato.	I was about to go out when you knocked.	An interruption introduced by quando
Il bambino stava per addormentarsi, ma il cane ha abbaiato.	The child was about to fall asleep, but the dog barked.	Reflexive infinitive; expected event interrupted
Stavamo per ordinare, ma abbiamo cambiato ristorante.	We were about to order, but we changed restaurants.	The action did not take place
Attento! Il bicchiere sta per cadere.	Watch out! The glass is about to fall.	Immediate warning
Non sto per cambiare idea.	I’m not about to change my mind.	Strong refusal or lack of intention

Common Mistakes

Leaving out per

• Wrong: Sto uscire.
• Right: Sto per uscire.
• Why: Per is an essential part of this construction. Stare cannot be followed directly by an infinitive here.

Conjugating the second verb

• Wrong: Loro stanno per arrivano.
• Right: Loro stanno per arrivare.
• Why: Conjugate only stare. The action after per remains an infinitive.

Using essere instead of stare

• Wrong: Sono per partire when you mean “I’m about to leave.”
• Right: Sto per partire.
• Why: English uses a form of “be,” but Italian uses stare in this fixed construction. Essere per can have other meanings and is not the ordinary equivalent of “be about to.”

Using it for a distant plan

• Misleading: Sto per andare in Italia l’anno prossimo when the trip is merely a plan for next year.
• Better: Andrò in Italia l’anno prossimo or Ho intenzione di andare in Italia l’anno prossimo.
• Why: Stare per normally signals that the event is close. Use the future or an expression of intention for a plan that is not imminent.

Choosing the present for a past scene

• Wrong: Ieri sto per uscire quando mi hai chiamato.
• Right: Ieri stavo per uscire quando mi hai chiamato.
• Why: The action was imminent at a point in the past, so stare needs the imperfect form stavo.

Assuming stavo per means the action happened

• Incomplete conclusion: Stavo per telefonare means “I called.”
• Correct meaning: It means “I was about to call.”
• Why: The phrase takes you up to the edge of the action but does not assert its completion. Add context: …ma poi non ho telefonato (“…but then I didn’t call”).

Usage Notes

How soon is “about to”?

There is no fixed number of seconds or minutes. The relevant time depends on the event. Il treno sta per partire usually suggests moments; L’estate sta per finire may cover a longer period because seasons change gradually. What remains constant is the speaker’s view that the event is close and already approaching.

Stare per is not a general future tense

English “going to” covers both immediate events and intentions: “It’s going to rain” and “I’m going to study medicine someday.” Italian stare per fits the first idea when the signs suggest rain very soon, but not automatically the second. Depending on meaning, Italian may instead use the present, the future, or an intention phrase:

• Domani parto alle otto. — “I’m leaving at eight tomorrow.”
• Un giorno studierò medicina. — “One day I’ll study medicine.”
• Ho intenzione di cambiare lavoro. — “I intend to change jobs.”

Do not build an Italian future by copying English “going to” word for word. Andare a + infinitive exists in some contexts and varieties, but it is not the default all-purpose future construction that English “going to” is.

A natural way to announce your next move

In conversation, sto per often explains why you cannot do something now: Non posso parlare: sto per salire sull’autobus (“I can’t talk: I’m about to get on the bus”). It can also create urgency in notices and warnings: Il museo sta per chiudere; Attenzione, la porta sta per chiudersi.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

You do not need to master the points in this section at A2, but you will meet them later.

Other moods and tenses

The pattern is not limited grammatically to the present and imperfect. When another clause requires the subjunctive—a verb form used after certain expressions of uncertainty, opinion, feeling, or dependence—stare changes while per + infinitive remains intact:

• Credo che il film stia per iniziare. — “I think the movie is about to start.”
• Sembrava che stessero per andarsene. — “It looked as though they were about to leave.”

Forms such as starà per iniziare are possible, but they are less central than the present and imperfect and depend heavily on context. The present often does the ordinary work of announcing an imminent future event.

Alternative expressions

Italian has other ways to present something as very close:

Expression	Typical nuance	Example
essere sul punto di + infinitive	“to be on the point of”; explicit and neutral	Ero sul punto di rispondere.
essere in procinto di + infinitive	more formal or written	La commissione è in procinto di pubblicare il rapporto.
quasi + past tense	“almost”; often looks back at a narrowly avoided event	Sono quasi caduto.

These expressions overlap, but they are not always interchangeable. Stavo per cadere views the fall as imminent; sono quasi caduto presents it retrospectively as an event that nearly happened. In many situations both are possible, with a difference in viewpoint rather than basic facts.

Storytelling and suspense

Writers and speakers use stare per to pause a story immediately before a turning point: La porta stava per chiudersi quando una mano la bloccò (“The door was about to close when a hand stopped it”). The imperfect holds the expected action in the background, while a completed past action introduces the interruption. This contrast makes the construction useful for suspense, not just practical announcements.

Practice Tips

1. Make a six-person substitution drill. Start with Sto per partire and change the subject: stai, sta, stiamo, state, stanno. Then repeat with everyday infinitives such as mangiare, dormire, and telefonare.
2. Pair “now” with “then.” For each present sentence, create a past scene: Sto per uscire → Stavo per uscire quando…. Finish the second sentence with a realistic interruption.
3. Notice the time distance. When you hear English “going to,” ask whether the event is genuinely imminent. Translate with stare per only if “about to” keeps the intended meaning.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Stare (to stay/be) — review the basic present forms of stare before using this construction.