Se esco adesso, arrivo in tempo.

If I leave now, I’ll arrive in time.

Breakdown of Se esco adesso, arrivo in tempo.

• io: I
• adesso: now
• se: if
• arrivare: to arrive

Questions & Answers about Se esco adesso, arrivo in tempo.

Why is it se esco and not something like se usco?

Because uscire is an irregular verb in the present tense. The io form is esco.

Present tense of uscire:

• io esco
• tu esci
• lui/lei esce
• noi usciamo
• voi uscite
• loro escono

So Se esco adesso... is the correct form for if I go out now / if I leave now.

Why is there no io in the sentence?

Italian often leaves out subject pronouns when they are not needed. The verb ending already tells you who the subject is.

Here:

• esco = I go out / I leave
• arrivo = I arrive

So io is understood automatically. You could say Se io esco adesso, arrivo in tempo, but that sounds more emphatic, as if you are stressing I specifically.

Why are both verbs in the present tense?

This is very normal in Italian. In a real or likely condition, Italian often uses the present tense in both parts:

• Se esco adesso, arrivo in tempo.

Even though English may say If I leave now, I’ll arrive on time, Italian very naturally uses the present: esco + arrivo.

This is sometimes called a real condition:

• se
  • present
• present in the main clause

You could also sometimes hear the future in the second part, but the present is extremely common here.