La cautela è essenziale quando attraversi la strada affollata.

Caution is essential when you cross the crowded street.

Breakdown of La cautela è essenziale quando attraversi la strada affollata.

• tu: you
• essere: to be
• la strada: the street
• quando: when
• attraversare: to cross
• affollato: crowded
• essenziale: essential
• la cautela: the caution

Questions & Answers about La cautela è essenziale quando attraversi la strada affollata.

Why is cautela preceded by la?

Because cautela is a feminine singular noun in Italian. All feminine singular nouns take the definite article la.

Why is the adjective essenziale not changing form for gender?

Adjectives ending in -e have the same form for both masculine and feminine singular. Only their plural changes to -i (masc. + fem.)—for example, essenziali.

Why is the verb attraversi in the present indicative (second person singular) instead of the infinitive?

Here the sentence addresses “you” (tu). Italian often uses the present indicative after quando to describe a general or habitual action: “When you cross…”. If you wanted an impersonal statement, you could recast it as È essenziale attraversare la strada affollata, using the infinitive attraversare.

Why don’t we use the subjunctive after quando?

In Italian, subordinate clauses introduced by quando take the indicative when they refer to real, habitual, or future events. The subjunctive would only appear if the action were hypothetical or doubted, which isn’t the case here.

Why does affollata come after strada instead of before it?

Most descriptive adjectives in Italian follow the noun. Placing affollata after strada is the neutral, most common word order. Moving it before can add poetic emphasis or a stylistic nuance, but is not the default.