We've been looking at conjugated verbs followed by verbs in the infinitive. Some can be connected directly as we saw in Part 1, some are connected with the preposition a, as we saw in Part 2, and others are connected with the preposition di, which we will look at in this lesson. 

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Verbs that take di before a verb in the infinitive:

Let's start with an example. 

Ti ho portato il millefoglie.

I brought you a millefeuille.

Mentre lo mangi, io finisco di prepararmi

While you're eating it, I'll finish getting ready

e poi usciamo, eh?

and then we'll leave, huh?

Captions 18-20, La Ladra - Ep. 5 - Chi la fa l'aspetti

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Finisco is the conjugated verb (finire) and preparare is in the infinitive. We have the formula: conjugated verb + di + verb in the infinitive. Attenzione: The verb preparare is attached to the personal pronoun mi (myself) because in this case, the verb prepararsi is reflexive and means "to get [oneself] ready." 

One important verb we use with the preposition di is decidere (to decide).

Anita, per migliorare il suo livello di italiano,

Anita, in order to improve her level of Italian

ha deciso di trascorrere le sue vacanze estive in Italia,

decided to spend her summer vacations in Italy,

dove ha la possibilità di comunicare, conversare

where she has the possibility of communicating, conversing

con i miei amici, i miei familiari, i miei parenti

with my friends, my family, my relatives,

e di conoscere più a fondo la vera cultura italiana

and to get a deeper understanding of the true Italian culture

e la vera cultura della Sicilia, la regione da cui io provengo.

and the true culture of Sicily, the region I come from.

Captions 36-41, Adriano - Adriano e Anita

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There are plenty of important and useful verbs that take the preposition di before the infinitive, and you can find a list here, but here are a few more examples from Yabla videos:

Oppure: chiudo l'ombrello, perché ha smesso di piovere.

Or else, “I close the umbrella because it has stopped raining.”

Caption 7, Marika spiega - Il verbo chiudere

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Let's remember that although cercare basically means "to look for," "to seek," it also means "to try" or, we could say, "to seek to." We use the preposition di in this case.

Quando vai in paese, cerca di scoprire qualcosa di interessante.

When you go into town try to find out something interesting.

Caption 62, Il Commissario Manara - S2EP7 - Alta società

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Another great verb is credere, which basically means "to believe," but when it's used in conjunction with a verb in the infinitive, we often translate it with "to think," as in:

Ferma! Sta ferma! Dove credi di andare?

Stop! Stand still! Where do you think you're going?

Captions 46-47, Provaci Ancora Prof! - S1E1 - Il regalo di Babbo Natale

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In fact, you could say the exact same thing with the verb pensare, which also takes the preposition di before an infinitive. 

Dove pensi di andare?

Sperare is another great verb that works the same way, and to close, we'll say:

Speriamo di vedervi presto su Yabla (we hope to see you soon on Yabla)!

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A subscriber has asked a good question: why Adriano used stare instead of essere in caption 6 in Adriano - Adriano e Anita.

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In fact, knowing when to use stare isn’t always easy because like essere, it mostly translates as “to be.” Sometimes the choice is clear cut, and other times it’s a matter of taste or regional usage.

Sicuramente vi starete chiedendo

Surely you are wondering,

chi è questa bella ragazza che sta alla mia destra.

who is this beautiful girl who is on my right.

Captions 5-6, Adriano - Adriano e Anita

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Perhaps the best answer, in this case, is that stare has more to do with a position in a place or situation than essere, which is generic “to be,” and so using stare is a bit more specific. Adriano is not going so far as to say she is sitting or standing on his right, but she is there, placed at his right, in a position, so stare works.

Adriano also happens to be from Sicily. In southern Italy, people use the verb stare to replace essere in many cases.

There can be multiple reasons for using stare instead of essere, and they can be interchangeable in some cases, but there are some situations in which stare works and essere doesn’t.

Come stai (how are you)? We’re talking about a condition here.

"Come stai?" rispondo "sto bene!"

"How are you?" I answer, "I'm fine."

Caption 37, Corso di italiano con Daniela - Chiedere "Come va?"

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On the other hand, in the (unlikely) case where I ask you come sei? (using essere), I am asking how tall, how fat or thin you are, or how good looking you are, but not how you are feeling, or how you are.

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For more on stare, have a look at the WordReference entry for stare and see this Yabla lesson. In addition, it’s always handy to do a Yabla search of stare or its conjugations and look at the examples to get even more of a sense of when to use it.