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Questions & Answers about Quando il cielo si sarà coperto di nuovo, sposteremo tutto all’ombra dell’ombrellone.
What tense is si sarà coperto and how is it formed?
Si sarà coperto is the futuro anteriore (“future perfect”) of the pronominal verb coprirsi. It’s built with:
- the future of the auxiliary essere (“sarà”)
- the past participle “coperto”
- the reflexive pronoun “si” placed before the auxiliary.
This tense expresses an action that will be completed before another action in the future.
Why use coprirsi instead of the passive “il cielo sarà coperto”?
Coprirsi is a mediopassive (pronominal) verb: the sky “covers itself,” meaning it becomes overcast. Saying il cielo sarà coperto (passive) would imply someone or something actively covers the sky. The reflexive si highlights a natural change of state.
Why is the futuro anteriore used in the quando clause instead of the simple future?
In Italian, when you have two future actions, the one that happens first uses the futuro anteriore, and the one that follows uses the futuro semplice. Here, the sky becoming overcast comes before our moving of everything, so it’s “Quando il cielo si sarà coperto…” followed by “sposteremo tutto.”
What does di nuovo modify, and could it be placed elsewhere?
Di nuovo (“again”) modifies the participle “coperto,” indicating the sky is overcast once more. It normally follows the participle (coperto di nuovo), but you could also say si sarà di nuovo coperto, with a slight change in emphasis.
What does tutto refer to in sposteremo tutto, and how does it function?
Tutto is an indefinite pronoun meaning “everything” or “all of it.” It’s the direct object of sposteremo (“we will move”), implying all our belongings (chairs, towels, etc.).
Why do we say all’ombra and what’s its full form?
All’ombra is the contraction of a + l’ombra (“to the shade”). It indicates the destination or location under the umbrella’s shade.
Why dell’ombrellone instead of di ombrellone?
Dell’ombrellone contracts di + l’ombrellone (“of the umbrella”). In Italian, prepositions like di, a, da, in contract with the definite article l’ to form dell’, all’, dall’, nell’, etc.
Could we say sotto l’ombrellone instead of all’ombra dell’ombrellone?
Yes. Spostare tutto sotto l’ombrellone is perfectly correct. The original phrase emphasizes “shade” (ombra), while sotto simply means “under the umbrella,” whether in shade or not.