Appena il cielo si schiarirà, usciremo a guardare le stelle.

As soon as the sky clears, we will go out to watch the stars.

Breakdown of Appena il cielo si schiarirà, usciremo a guardare le stelle.

• noi: we
• guardare: to watch
• il cielo: the sky
• uscire: to go out

Questions & Answers about Appena il cielo si schiarirà, usciremo a guardare le stelle.

What does appena mean in this sentence?

In this context, appena means “as soon as.” It introduces a temporal clause indicating that one action (going out) happens immediately after another (the sky clearing).

Why is the verb schiarirà in the future tense rather than the present?

In Italian, when a temporal conjunction like appena, quando, or finché refers to a future event, the subordinate clause also takes the future tense. Hence you say Appena il cielo si schiarirà (not si schiarisce) because you’re talking about something that will happen later.

What is the function of si in si schiarirà?

Here schiarirsi is a pronominal (intransitive) verb meaning “to clear up” or “to lighten.” The si is not a reflexive pronoun in the usual “oneself” sense but part of the verb’s normal form: il cielo si schiarisce = “the sky clears up.”

Why is there an article before cielo (i.e., il cielo)?

Italian generally uses the definite article with natural phenomena and many nouns: il cielo = “the sky.” Saying just cielo sounds odd; you need il to make it grammatically correct and natural.