Stare per + infinitive (near future)

Il film sta per cominciare.The film is about to start.

To say that something is about to happen in the next few moments, Italian uses a form of stare + per + the infinitive. It means that the action has not started yet, but it is very close.

Quick shortcut: stare (conjugated) + per + infinitive: Sto per uscire. Stai per partire? Stanno per arrivare.

1. How to form it

Only stare changes with the subject. Per and the infinitive stay the same:

Examples: Sto per chiamare Marco. (I'm about to call Marco.) Sta per piovere. (It's about to rain.) Stiamo per partire. (We're about to leave.)

For the present of stare, see Present tense: common irregular verbs.

2. "I was about to": stavo per

With stare in the imperfetto (stavo, stavi, stava, stavamo, stavate, stavano), the construction means something was about to happen, often when something else interrupted it:

• Stavo per telefonarti, quando sei arrivato. (I was about to call you when you arrived.)
• Il treno stava per partire, ma siamo saliti in tempo. (The train was about to leave, but we got on in time.)

For the imperfetto, see Imperfetto.

3. Questions and negatives

The pattern works in questions and negatives like any other verb:

• Stai per uscire? (Are you about to go out?)
• Non sto per partire, devo ancora finire. (I'm not about to leave, I still have to finish.)

4. Pronouns and reflexive verbs

Object pronouns and reflexive pronouns can go before stare or be attached to the infinitive. Both are correct:

• Ti sto per chiamare. / Sto per chiamarti.
• Mi sto per alzare. / Sto per alzarmi.

For more on pronoun position, see Position of object pronouns.

5. What it is not

• It does not mean "going to" for plans. English I'm going to study medicine next year is a plan far away, so Italian uses the present or the future: L'anno prossimo studio medicina. / studierò medicina. Stare per needs a moment that is very close.
• It is not the same as stare + gerundio. Sto uscendo means "I'm going out right now, I'm in the middle of it" (see Stare + gerundio), while Sto per uscire means "I'm just about to".

Common mistakes

• ❌ Sto uscire. → ✅ Sto per uscire. (don't forget per)
• ❌ Sto di uscire. → ✅ Sto per uscire. (the preposition is per)
• ❌ Sto per uscendo. → ✅ Sto per uscire. (an infinitive after per, not a gerundio)
• ❌ Sto per esco. → ✅ Sto per uscire. (not a conjugated verb)
• ❌ L'anno prossimo sto per andare in Giappone. → ✅ L'anno prossimo andrò in Giappone. (for far-off plans use the future)

Quick check

Here are a few things that are about to happen. Each one goes into stare per + infinitive.

1. io / chiamare Anna
2. il film / finire
3. noi / uscire
4. loro / arrivare
5. tu / cenare?
6. (past) io / dire la verità

Key takeaways

• Stare per + infinitive means something is about to happen very soon: Il film sta per cominciare.
• Only stare changes with the subject; per and the infinitive stay the same.
• In the imperfetto, stavo per means "I was about to": Stavo per telefonarti.
• Pronouns can go before stare or after the infinitive: Ti sto per chiamare / Sto per chiamarti.
• For distant plans use the present or the future, and for an action in progress use stare + gerundio.