Italian “stare per” Made Simple: How to Say “I’m About to…” (with lots of examples)

If you want to say “I’m about to…” in Italian, the most direct and common structure is:

stare per + infinito

• Sto per uscire. = I’m about to leave.
• Stiamo per mangiare. = We’re about to eat.

This post gives you a practical guide: the core meaning, tense choices, negatives, pronouns, and alternatives Italians use in real life.

Table of Contents

• What “stare per” means (and what it does not mean)
• Present tense: sto/stai/sta/stiamo/state/stanno per…
• Past: stavo per… / sono stato per… (which one to use)
• Future: starò per… (and when it sounds weird)
• Negative: non sto per… + a few common patterns
• Pronouns: sto per farlo, sto per dirglielo
• Alternatives: “stare per” vs “quasi” vs “tra poco”
• Mini-drills (practice)

What “stare per” means (and what it does not mean)

Stare per + infinito expresses an action that is imminent — it’s on the verge of happening.

• Sto per chiamarti. = I’m about to call you (like… right now).
• Il treno sta per partire. = The train is about to leave.

It’s not a generic future (“I will”). If you mean “I’ll call you later”, Italians usually use the simple future or present-with-future-meaning:

• Ti chiamo più tardi. = I’ll call you later.
• Ti chiamerò più tardi. = I will call you later.

Present tense: sto/stai/sta/stiamo/state/stanno per…

Conjugate stare in the present, then add per + infinitive.

• Io sto per uscire. = I’m about to leave.
• Tu stai per iniziare? = Are you about to start?
• Lui/lei sta per arrivare. = He/She is about to arrive.
• Noi stiamo per pagare. = We’re about to pay.
• Voi state per partire. = You (pl.) are about to leave.
• Loro stanno per chiudere. = They’re about to close.

In spoken Italian you’ll often hear it with common everyday verbs:

• Sto per uscire.
• Sto per tornare.
• Stiamo per ordinare.

Past: stavo per… / sono stato per… (which one to use)

For “I was about to…”, the most natural is imperfetto:

• Stavo per uscire, ma mi hai chiamato. = I was about to leave, but you called me.
• Stavamo per comprare i biglietti. = We were about to buy the tickets.

Sono stato per… exists, but it’s usually less common for this meaning in everyday speech. If you use it, it can sound more like “I was (in the state of) being about to…” for a bounded period, which is a bit heavy. If your goal is simply “I was about to…”, prefer stavo per….

Future: starò per… (and when it sounds weird)

You can say starò per + infinito, but “about to” and “future” overlap awkwardly: “I will be about to…” is a very specific idea.

These sound natural when you’re describing a specific moment in the future:

• Alle 8 starò per uscire. = At 8 I’ll be just about to leave.
• Quando arrivi, starò per iniziare. = When you arrive, I’ll be about to start.

If you simply mean “I’m leaving soon”, Italians often choose:

• Tra poco esco. = I’m going out soon.
• Sto uscendo. = I’m heading out (right now / any moment).

Negative: non sto per… + a few common patterns

Negation is straightforward: non goes before stare.

• Non sto per uscire. = I’m not about to leave (i.e., I’m not going anywhere right now).
• Non stiamo per finire. = We’re not about to finish.

Two very common “real life” patterns:

• Non stavo per dire questo. = I wasn’t about to say this / I wasn’t going to say this.
• Non stavo per farlo davvero. = I wasn’t really about to do it.

Pronouns: sto per farlo, sto per dirglielo

With infinitives, object pronouns often attach to the end of the infinitive:

• Sto per farlo. = I’m about to do it.
• Stiamo per comprarli. = We’re about to buy them.
• Sto per chiamarti. = I’m about to call you.

When you have two pronouns, they stack on the infinitive:

• Sto per dirglielo. = I’m about to tell it to him/her.
• Stiamo per mandargliene uno. = We’re about to send him/her one (of them).

Tip: If these feel intimidating, start by mastering the base chunk (sto per dire, sto per farlo) and add pronouns one at a time.

Alternatives: “stare per” vs “quasi” vs “tra poco”

Italian has a few ways to express “almost / soon / on the verge of”. They’re not interchangeable, but they overlap.

1) Quasi = “almost”

Quasi is about being close to a result, not necessarily imminent in time.

• Ho quasi finito. = I’ve almost finished.
• È quasi pronto. = It’s almost ready.

2) Tra poco / fra poco = “in a little while”

This expresses near future without the “on the verge” feeling.

• Tra poco esco. = I’m going out soon.
• Fra poco arriviamo. = We’ll arrive soon.

3) Present progressive: sto uscendo = “I’m heading out”

With movement verbs, Italians often use stare + gerundio to describe an action that is starting / in progress.

• Sto uscendo. = I’m heading out (I’m leaving now).
• Sto arrivando. = I’m coming / I’m on my way.

Compared to sto per uscire, it can feel even “more underway”.

Mini-drills (practice)

Translate into Italian using stare per. Say the answer out loud.

1. I’m about to leave. (Sto per uscire.)
2. We were about to start, but the internet went down. (Stavamo per iniziare, ma è andata via la connessione.)
3. Are you about to call me? (Stai per chiamarmi?)
4. At 6 I’ll be about to go out. (Alle 6 starò per uscire.)
5. I’m about to tell it to him. (Sto per dirglielo.)

Takeaway

Use stare per + infinito when something is imminent: sto per uscire, il treno sta per partire. For “soon” in a looser way, reach for tra poco or a simple present with future meaning.