Per cortesia, citofona quando sei davanti al portone.

Please ring the intercom when you are in front of the gate.

Breakdown of Per cortesia, citofona quando sei davanti al portone.

• tu: you
• essere: to be
• quando: when
• davanti a: in front of

Questions & Answers about Per cortesia, citofona quando sei davanti al portone.

Why is it quando sei (present) and not quando sarai (future)?

In Italian, time clauses with words like quando, appena, se, finché, etc. usually take the present tense even when referring to the future. So quando sei davanti al portone naturally means “when you are (i.e., when you get) in front of the door.” You can say quando sarai davanti al portone, and it isn’t wrong, but it sounds more formal or emphatic. The everyday, neutral choice is the present: quando sei.

What exactly does citofona mean? How is it different from suona (il) citofono or suona il campanello?

• Citofona is the imperative of citofonare (“to ring/buzz via the intercom”), the system at the entrance of many apartment buildings that lets you talk to someone inside.
• Suona (il) citofono means the same thing and is very common.
• Suona il campanello means “ring the doorbell” and is used when there’s a plain bell (e.g., at a house or at the apartment door itself).
• In short: for a building’s intercom, use citofonare or suonare il citofono; for a simple bell, suonare il campanello. All are readily understood.

Is citofona an imperative? How do I change it for formal or plural?