Issiamo la vela prima di virare.

Issiamo is the first-person plural form of issare.

That means it can mean either:

• we hoist
• or, in many contexts, let’s hoist

This happens because in Italian, the noi form of the present tense is also used as the imperative for we / let’s ....

So depending on context, Issiamo la vela prima di virare could be understood as:

• a statement: We hoist the sail before tacking
• or an instruction/suggestion: Let’s hoist the sail before tacking

Because Italian usually drops subject pronouns when the verb already makes the subject clear.

• issiamo already tells you the subject is noi = we
• so Noi issiamo la vela... is possible, but usually unnecessary

Italian includes the pronoun mainly for:

• emphasis
• contrast
• clarity in special cases

So the normal version is simply Issiamo la vela...

Italian often uses the definite article where English might not.

So la vela means:

• the sail

In context, this usually refers to the sail that is relevant or already understood in the situation.

English sometimes omits articles in more general or practical language, but Italian often keeps them. So issare la vela is the natural way to say to hoist the sail.

Because after prima di (before), Italian commonly uses an infinitive when the subject stays the same.

Here:

• Issiamo la vela = we hoist / let’s hoist the sail
• prima di virare = before tacking / before turning

So the structure is:

• prima di + infinitive

This is very common:

• prima di partire = before leaving
• prima di mangiare = before eating

Not in this sentence as the most natural choice.

When Italian uses a full clause after before, it normally uses:

• prima che + subjunctive

So you could say:

• prima che viriamo → not standard here
• prima che viriamo is not the usual grammar
• the correct clause structure would be something like prima che viriamo only if the language were treated nonstandardly, so avoid it

The normal alternatives are:

• prima di virare = before tacking
• prima che viriamo / viriate / virino? No — after prima che, use the subjunctive, for example:
  • prima che viriamo is wrong
  • prima che viriamo should be prima che viriamo? No, because for virare, the present subjunctive forms are different only in some persons; for noi, it is viriamo, but this structure is still less natural here if the subject is the same

The key point is:

• if the subject is the same, Italian strongly prefers prima di + infinitive
• so prima di virare is exactly what learners should use here

In general Italian, virare can mean to turn or to change direction, but in a nautical context it has a more specific meaning.

Here it most naturally means something like:

• to tack
• to come about
• more generally, to turn the boat

So this is a sailing sentence, and virare is specialized vocabulary.

Not especially in this sense.

A native English speaker might expect a more general verb like girare or voltare, but virare is more technical here because the sentence is about sailing.

Outside sailing, virare can also appear in more formal or figurative uses, like to shift direction or to veer, but it is not the basic everyday verb for an ordinary turn.

The given order is the most natural:

• Issiamo la vela prima di virare.

Italian word order is fairly flexible, but changes usually add emphasis or sound less neutral. For example:

• Prima di virare, issiamo la vela.

This is also correct and means the same thing, but it puts more focus on before tacking.

So:

• the original sentence is neutral and natural
• moving prima di virare to the front is possible for emphasis

It is pronounced roughly like:

• ees-SYAH-mo

A few useful points:

• i at the beginning sounds like ee
• the ss is pronounced as a strong s
• -iamo is a very common ending for noi verbs

So if you know forms like:

• parliamo
• andiamo
• mangiamo

then issiamo follows a familiar pattern in pronunciation.

The infinitive is issare.

It is a regular -are verb. Its present-tense forms follow the normal pattern:

• io isso
• tu issi
• lui/lei issa
• noi issiamo
• voi issate
• loro issano

So if you know regular -are verbs, this one is straightforward.

Yes. That is one of the most important things to notice.

In Italian, the noi imperative has the same form as the noi present indicative. So:

• Issiamo la vela! = Let’s hoist the sail!

Without more context, the form alone does not tell you whether it is:

• a statement: we hoist
• or a command/suggestion: let’s hoist

You understand it from the situation, tone, or punctuation.

Because prima di works as a complete expression before an infinitive.

So the pattern is simply:

• prima di + infinitive

Examples:

• prima di partire
• prima di entrare
• prima di virare

You do not add another preposition after di. The infinitive goes directly after it.