Breakdown of Se il colloquio andrà bene, lui si comprerà una chitarra elettrica.
Questions & Answers about Se il colloquio andrà bene, lui si comprerà una chitarra elettrica.
Why is andrà in the future tense after se? In English we’d say “If the interview goes well…” using the present.
In Italian you have two common patterns for real conditions:
- Normative (and more frequent): present indicative in the se-clause + future in the result clause
• Se il colloquio va bene, lui si comprerà una chitarra elettrica. - Colloquial or emphatic: future in both clauses
• Se il colloquio andrà bene, lui si comprerà una chitarra elettrica.
Using andrà here stresses that you’re talking about a future event. Both forms are understood, but the present-in-protasis version is more “by the book.”
Could you just say Se il colloquio va bene instead of using andrà?
What does si comprerà mean? Why the reflexive si?
Comprarsi is the reflexive form of comprare, meaning “to buy for oneself.”
• lui comprerà una chitarra elettrica = he will buy an electric guitar (possibly for someone else)
• lui si comprerà una chitarra elettrica = he will buy himself an electric guitar
You can drop the reflexive if you don’t need that nuance:
• Se il colloquio va bene, lui comprerà una chitarra elettrica.
Why is lui included when Italian usually drops subject pronouns?
Why do we use una before chitarra elettrica, and why is elettrica after chitarra?
• UNA is the feminine singular indefinite article because chitarra is a feminine noun and you’re talking about one unspecified guitar.
• In Italian, adjectives normally follow the noun: chitarra elettrica. You could say elettrica before for poetic effect, but the usual word order is noun + adjective.
Can I switch the order of the clauses?
What’s the difference between se and quando in conditional sentences?
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