Italiano — Stare per + infinitive
Stare per + infinitive expresses an action that is about to happen. It contrasts with stare + gerund, which describes an action in progress right now: Sto per uscire (I'm about to go out) vs Sto uscendo (I'm going out / on my way out).
How it works
Conjugate stare in the tense you need, add per, then the bare infinitive: Sto per partire (I'm about to leave), Stavamo per mangiare (we were about to eat). It works in the past too, showing something on the verge of happening: Stava per piovere (it was about to rain).
Examples
| Stare per + infinitive | Stare + gerund |
|---|---|
| Sto per uscire | Sto uscendo |
| Stai per finire? | Stai finendo? |
| Il treno sta per partire | Il treno sta partendo |
| Stavo per chiamarti | Stavo chiamandoti |
| Stiamo per arrivare | Stiamo arrivando |
| Stava per piovere | Stava piovendo |
Good to know
Don't confuse the two: with stare per you use the plain infinitive (Sto per mangiare), not the gerund. Also, stare per takes no direct object of its own, but with the gerund object pronouns can attach to the end: Stavo chiamandoti (I was calling you) — the pronoun goes onto the gerund, never the infinitive after per.