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Breakdown of L’ingresso principale chiude alle dieci, quindi usciamo prima che sia tardi.
essere
to be
chiudere
to close
noi
we
quindi
so
a
at
che
that
tardi
late
prima
before
principale
main
uscire
to leave
l’ingresso
the entrance
dieci
ten
Questions & Answers about L’ingresso principale chiude alle dieci, quindi usciamo prima che sia tardi.
Why is the article L’ used instead of Il or Lo before ingresso?
In Italian, when the masculine singular definite article il comes before a noun starting with a vowel, it elides to l’. So il ingresso becomes l’ingresso.
Why do we say alle dieci and not just a dieci?
When telling time you need the preposition a plus the definite article le (the plural feminine article used for hours). a + le contracts to alle, so alle dieci = “at ten o’clock.”
Why is chiude in the present tense instead of a future tense like chiuderà?
Italian often uses the simple present to talk about scheduled or timetabled events (“the store closes at…”). It’s more natural to say chiude alle dieci than chiuderà alle dieci for fixed hours.
What function does quindi serve here? Could I use perciò or dunque instead?
quindi means “therefore” or “so,” signaling a logical consequence of the first clause. perciò and dunque are synonyms and would work similarly, though quindi is very common in colloquial speech.
Why is the clause prima che sia tardi followed by sia (subjunctive) instead of è (indicative)?
After conjunctions expressing anticipation or prevention like prima che (“before”), Italian requires the subjunctive mood in the subordinate clause. Hence sia is the present subjunctive of essere, not the indicative è.
What tense is sia exactly, and why that choice?
sia is the first‐ or third‐person singular present subjunctive of essere. It’s used here because prima che triggers the subjunctive to express that the action (“it becomes late”) is hypothetical or not yet realized.
Why is usciamo (we leave) in the present tense instead of a future like usciremo?
Just like chiude, the present tense can express a near future or planned action in Italian. Saying usciamo prima che sia tardi (“we’ll go out before it’s late”) with the present is more natural and immediate.
Why does the adjective principale come after ingresso instead of before?
Most descriptive adjectives in Italian follow the noun they modify. ingresso principale (“main entrance”) places the adjective after the noun for a neutral descriptive effect. Placing it before would be unusual or stylistically marked.
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