Stellar evolution before the ZAMS

Young stars on their way to the ZAMS evolve in significantly different ways depending on their mass. While the theoretical and observational properties of low- and intermediate-mass stars are rather well understood and/or empirically tested, the situation for massive stars (≳10-15 M_⊙) is, to say the least, still elusive. On theoretical grounds, the PMS evolution of these objects should be extremely short, or nonexistent at all. Observationally, despite a great deal of effort, the simple (or bold) predictions of simplified models of massive star formation/evolution have proved more difficult to be checked. After a brief review of the theoretical expectations, I will highlight some critical test on young stars of various masses.