Quando siamo arrivati al cinema, il film era già cominciato.

When we arrived at the cinema, the film had already started.

Breakdown of Quando siamo arrivati al cinema, il film era già cominciato.

• quando: when
• noi: we
• arrivare: to arrive
• già: already

Questions & Answers about Quando siamo arrivati al cinema, il film era già cominciato.

What tense is siamo arrivati, and why is it used here?

Siamo arrivati is the passato prossimo, which describes a completed action in the recent past. In this sentence it marks the precise moment when we arrived at the cinema.

Why is essere used as the auxiliary with arrivare instead of avere?

In Italian, verbs of motion or change of state typically take essere in compound tenses. Since arrivare expresses movement, its passato prossimo must use essere, not avere.

Why does the past participle in siamo arrivati end in -i?

When you use essere as the auxiliary, the past participle agrees in gender and number with the subject.

• arrivati (–i) = masculine plural (we = gruppo misto or all-male)
• If the group were all women, you’d say siamo arrivate (–e).

What tense is era già cominciato, and why is it used instead of ha già cominciato?