Learn Hardcore Italian: Troverai un parcheggio libero vicino alla stazione se arriverai presto. - You will find a free parking spot near the station if you arrive early.

Why are both troverai and arriverai in the future tense, when in English we say “If you arrive early, you’ll find a parking spot…” using the present in the if-clause?

In Italian it’s perfectly acceptable to put both the protasis (the “if” clause) and the apodosis (the main clause) in the future tense to stress that both actions will happen later. Traditional grammar books often recommend the present indicative in the se clause (e.g. Se arrivi presto, troverai…), but using Se arriverai presto, troverai… is common in spoken and written Italian and sounds natural to native ears.

What does parcheggio libero mean? Does libero here mean “free of charge”?

No. In parcheggio libero the adjective libero means “vacant” or “available” (not occupied). If you want “free of charge,” you’d say parcheggio gratuito or parcheggio a pagamento zero. So un parcheggio libero is simply a spot you can use because it isn’t taken.

Why is it vicino alla stazione and not vicino la stazione or vicino stazione?

When vicino is followed by a noun that requires an article (here la stazione), you must contract the preposition a with the definite article la, giving alla. So vicino + a + la stazione = vicino alla stazione. Omitting the article (vicino stazione) is ungrammatical in standard Italian.

Could I say un libero parcheggio instead of un parcheggio libero? Does adjective placement change the meaning?

Most descriptive adjectives in Italian (like libero) follow the noun: parcheggio libero is the normal order. Placing libero before the noun (un libero parcheggio) sounds poetic or emphatic and is very uncommon in everyday speech. It doesn’t change the basic meaning, but it will strike Italians as unusual or overly literary.

Can I replace arriverai with the present tense arrivi in the se clause?

Yes. Saying Se arrivi presto, troverai… is equally correct and probably even more typical in neutral style. Many learners default to the present in the se clause because that matches English structure, and Italian fully accepts it.

Could I use the conditional instead of the future, as in troveresti un parcheggio libero se arrivassi presto?

Yes, that’s a different kind of conditional (the present unreal or more polite conditional). Troveresti… se arrivassi… suggests you’re imagining a less likely or hypothetical scenario, or you’re being polite. The original troverai… se arriverai… simply states a likely future event.