How To Say 'Just About To...' In Italian

As we covered in the last post, there are a few special cases in Italian where we use the verb stare. Today I just want to talk briefly about one of those cases.

Stare per ...

The phrase stare per [...] indicates action on the verge of happening. It is always followed by an infinitive verb.

For instance:

Maria sta per andare al negozio.
Maria is just about to go to the store.

Questo gioco sta per finire.
This game is about to end.

Pronto? Ciao, Carlo. Stavo giusto per chiamarti.
Hello? Oh, hi Carlo. I was just about to call you.

Credo che qualcosa di brutto stia per succedere.
I think something bad is about to happen.

So that's it. Just a short update today.