Learn Hardcore Italian: Se il nostro volo venisse cancellato, preferirei dormire in aeroporto. - If our flight were cancelled, I would rather sleep at the airport.

Venisse is the imperfect subjunctive (congiuntivo imperfetto) of venire, combined with the past participle cancellato to form the passive voice. In Italian unreal/hypothetical conditions (the so-called second conditional), you use the congiuntivo imperfetto in the se-clause to express “if X were to happen.”

Why not use the indicative verrà cancellato in the se-clause?

Using the future indicative verrà cancellato would create a first conditional (“If our flight will be canceled”), which speaks to a real, plausible event. Here the speaker paints a more hypothetical picture (“If our flight were canceled”), so they choose the second conditional: imperfect subjunctive + present conditional.

Could I replace venisse cancellato with fosse cancellato? Is there any difference?

Yes—“Se il nostro volo fosse cancellato…” is equally correct. Both forms use the imperfect subjunctive passive. Venisse slightly emphasizes the action of canceling, while fosse focuses on the state of being canceled, but in everyday speech they’re interchangeable.

What type of conditional sentence is this in Italian?

It’s a second conditional (periodo ipotetico di secondo tipo). The structure is:
• Protasis (se-clause): congiuntivo imperfetto
• Apodosis (main clause): condizionale presente

What does preferirei mean, and why isn’t it preferisco or vorrei?

Preferirei is the present conditional of preferire, meaning “I would prefer.”

Preferisco is the present indicative (“I prefer”), implying a real preference now.
Vorrei is the conditional of volere (“I would like”), which is also possible but less precise in expressing a preference among options.

Why is there no preposition before dormire? Would preferirei di dormire be correct?

After verbs of preference like preferire, Italian uses the bare infinitive (dormire) without di or a. Therefore, preferirei dormire is correct, and preferirei di dormire would be ungrammatical.

Why is it in aeroporto and not all’aeroporto?

Italian typically uses in with public places and infrastructures (e.g., in ufficio, in ospedale, in aeroporto) to mean “inside that place.” While all’aeroporto isn’t wrong, in aeroporto is more idiomatic when referring to spending time inside the terminal.

Could I use an active form like Se cancellassero il nostro volo… instead of the passive?

Yes. “Se cancellassero il nostro volo, preferirei dormire in aeroporto” uses the active imperfect subjunctive of cancellare (with an implied “they”). It’s perfectly natural and conveys the same hypothetical meaning.