Breakdown of Appena esco dalla stazione, il cielo si schiarisce rapidamente.
io
I
da
from
il cielo
the sky
la stazione
the station
uscire
to leave
appena
as soon as
schiarirsi
to brighten
rapidamente
quickly
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Questions & Answers about Appena esco dalla stazione, il cielo si schiarisce rapidamente.
What does appena mean in this sentence?
appena here is a temporal conjunction meaning as soon as. So Appena esco dalla stazione = As soon as I leave the station.
Why is the verb esco in the present tense instead of the future?
In Italian, temporal clauses introduced by words like appena, quando, non appena normally use the present indicative—even if they refer to future events. So you say Appena esco… rather than Appena uscirò….
Why is the clause after appena followed by the indicative and not the subjunctive?
Because the action is presented as a real, factual event, not a wish or uncertain possibility. Italian uses the subjunctive in temporal clauses only when there’s a sense of doubt or hypothetical scenario, which isn’t the case here.
Why is dalla used instead of writing da la stazione?
dalla is the contraction of the preposition da + the definite article la. Italian requires this articulated preposition, so da + la stazione becomes dalla stazione.
Why does the sentence use il cielo with an article, whereas in English you’d just say “sky”?
Italian generally uses definite articles before nouns more often than English does. With natural elements like cielo, sole, mare, the article is almost always required: il cielo, il sole, il mare.
What’s going on with si schiarisce? Is it reflexive?
Yes and no. Schiarirsi is a pseudo-reflexive (or middle-voice) verb here, meaning to clear up/brighten on its own. The si indicates the sky is doing the action to itself—the sky clears up.
Why is the adverb rapidamente placed after the verb rather than before it?
In Italian the default position for manner adverbs (like rapidamente, lentamente, velocemente) is right after the verb they modify: si schiarisce rapidamente. You can move them for emphasis, but post-verbal is the norm.
Why is there a comma after stazione?
Because the subordinate temporal clause (Appena esco dalla stazione) comes before the main clause (il cielo si schiarisce rapidamente). When the dependent clause leads, you separate it with a comma.