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Verbs taking 'a' for people

When you call someone, answer someone, or believe someone in English, you use a direct object. You just say the verb and the person. In Italian, many common verbs require you to use the preposition a before the person you are interacting with. Instead of calling someone, you are technically calling to someone.

This means the person becomes an indirect object. Learning which verbs take a is essential, not only for building sentences correctly, but also for choosing the right pronouns when you replace the person's name.

Word list
chiedereA1 to ask chiedere a qualcuno = to ask someone direA1 to say dire a qualcuno = to tell someone fare una domandaA1 to ask fare una domanda a qualcuno = to ask someone a question rispondereA1 to answer rispondere a qualcuno = to answer someone telefonareA1 to call telefonare a qualcuno = to phone someone volere beneA1 to love volere bene a qualcuno = to love someone credereA2 to believe credere a qualcuno = to believe someone domandareA2 to ask domandare a qualcuno = to ask someone fare maleA2 to hurt fare male a qualcuno = to hurt someone fare visitaA2 to visit fare visita a qualcuno = to visit someone permettereA2 to let permettere a qualcuno di fare = to allow someone to do promettereA2 to promise promettere a qualcuno = to promise someone andare beneB1 to fit andare bene a qualcuno = to fit someone assomigliareB1 to look like assomigliare a qualcuno = to resemble someone avvicinarsiB1 to approach avvicinarsi a qualcuno = to approach someone badareB1 to take care of badare a qualcuno = to look after someone calzareB1 to fit calzare a qualcuno = to fit someone consigliareB1 to advise consigliare a qualcuno di fare = to advise someone to do donareB1 to suit donare a qualcuno = to suit someone porre una domandaB1 to ask porre una domanda a qualcuno = to ask someone a question proibireB1 to forbid proibire a qualcuno di fare = to forbid someone to do ricordareB1 to remind ricordare a qualcuno di fare = to remind someone to do somigliareB1 to look like somigliare a qualcuno = to resemble someone sparareB1 to shoot sparare a qualcuno = to shoot someone stare beneB1 to suit stare bene a qualcuno = to suit someone vietareB1 to forbid vietare a qualcuno di fare = to forbid someone to do fare pauraB2 to scare fare paura a qualcuno = to scare someone fare un favoreB2 to do a favor fare un favore a qualcuno = to do someone a favor obbedireB2 to obey obbedire a qualcuno = to obey someone ordinareB2 to command ordinare a qualcuno di fare = to order someone to do sopravvivereB2 to survive sopravvivere a qualcuno = to outlive someone ubbidireB2 to obey ubbidire a qualcuno = to obey someone disobbedireC1 to disobey disobbedire a qualcuno = to disobey someone disubbidireC1 to disobey disubbidire a qualcuno = to disobey someone
Communication and Trust

Several everyday verbs related to talking and trusting require a before a person. telefonare (to call) and rispondere (to answer) are classic examples. You also need a when using credere (to believe).

Io telefono a mia madre ogni domenica.
(I call my mother every Sunday.)
Lo studente non risponde all'insegnante.
(The student does not answer the teacher.)
Perché non credi a Marco?
(Why do you not believe Marco?)
Affection and Social Interactions

When expressing affection for family and friends, you use volere bene (to love), which always takes a. Similarly, if you want to visit someone, you use fare visita followed by a. If you want to say someone resembles a relative, you can use assomigliare or its shorter twin somigliare, both of which require the preposition.

I bambini vogliono bene ai nonni.
(The children love their grandparents.)
Oggi faccio visita a mio zio in ospedale.
(Today I am visiting my uncle in the hospital.)
La bambina assomiglia a suo padre.
(The little girl looks like her father.)
Rules, Survival and Care

Verbs dealing with rules and authority also follow this pattern. You must use a with obbedire and its alternative spelling ubbidire (to obey), as well as their opposites disobbedire and disubbidire (to disobey).

Il cane ubbidisce al padrone.
(The dog obeys the owner.)

Other verbs in this category include sopravvivere (to outlive, to survive), sparare (to shoot), and badare (to look after).

La regina è sopravvissuta a suo marito.
(The queen outlived her husband.)
La babysitter bada ai bambini stasera.
(The babysitter is looking after the children tonight.)
Watch Out: The Pronoun Trap

The biggest trap for English speakers involves pronouns. Because these verbs take an indirect object, you cannot use direct object pronouns like lo (him) or la (her). You must use the indirect object pronouns gli (to him or to them) and le (to her).

If you want to say I call her, you must literally say I call to her.

Non le telefono da un mese.
(I have not called her for a month.)
Loro dicono la verità, quindi io gli credo.
(They are telling the truth, so I believe them.)
Summary

Remember that many common Italian verbs, like calling, answering, and obeying, require the preposition a before a person. Keep this in mind so you naturally choose indirect object pronouns like gli and le when replacing the person's name.