A meno che non piova, domenica torneremo al pascolo per vedere di nuovo la pecora e la capra.

A meno che means unless.

So:

A meno che non piova = Unless it rains

It introduces a condition that would stop the main action from happening.

This non is often called an expletive or pleonastic non. It is very common after a meno che and does not make the clause negative in the usual sense.

So:

• A meno che non piova = Unless it rains
• not Unless it does not rain

For English speakers, this is one of the most confusing points, because the Italian non here does not translate as not.

In everyday Italian, you may sometimes hear a meno che piova, but the version with non is standard and very common.

Because a meno che normally requires the subjunctive.

• piove = indicative
• piova = subjunctive

Italian uses the subjunctive after certain expressions of doubt, condition, emotion, necessity, and similar ideas. A meno che is one of those expressions.

So the pattern is:

• A meno che non + subjunctive

Examples:

• A meno che non sia tardi = Unless it is late
• A meno che non arrivino presto = Unless they arrive early

Torneremo is the future tense of tornare: we will return / we will go back.

The sentence is talking about something that will happen on Sunday, so the future is natural here:

• torneremo = we will return

Italian often uses the present tense for future events too, especially in speech, but here the future makes the timing very clear.

Possible alternative:

• domenica torniamo al pascolo = on Sunday we’re going back to the pasture

That is also possible in many contexts, especially conversationally.

When Italian refers to a specific upcoming Sunday, it usually says domenica without the article.

• Domenica torneremo... = We’ll return on Sunday

But la domenica usually means on Sundays or every Sunday, so it sounds habitual.

Compare:

• Domenica torneremo al pascolo = We’ll go back to the pasture on Sunday
• La domenica torniamo al pascolo = On Sundays we go back to the pasture

Al pascolo means to the pasture, to the grazing field, or more broadly out to graze / in the grazing area.

It is made from:

• a + il = al

and

• pascolo = pasture, grazing land, grazing

So tornare al pascolo means to return to the pasture/grazing place.

Depending on context, it can sound quite literal: going back to the field where animals graze.

Per + infinitive is a very common way to express purpose in Italian.

So:

• per vedere = in order to see / to see

In the sentence:

• torneremo al pascolo per vedere di nuovo la pecora e la capra = we’ll return to the pasture to see the sheep and the goat again

This is one of the easiest purpose structures in Italian:

• studio per imparare = I study to learn
• vengo per aiutarti = I’m coming to help you

Di nuovo means again or anew.

Here:

• vedere di nuovo = to see again

In many cases, di nuovo and ancora can both mean again:

• Voglio vederla di nuovo
• Voglio vederla ancora

Both can mean I want to see her again.

A useful difference is that ancora can also mean still:

• Piove ancora = It’s still raining

Di nuovo cannot mean still. It only means again/anew.

So in this sentence, di nuovo is very clear and natural.

Italian uses definite articles more often than English does.

Here, la pecora e la capra suggests specific animals already known in the context:

• the sheep and the goat

Italian normally prefers the article in cases like this.

Without articles, pecora e capra, the phrase would feel less natural here unless it were part of a more general or list-like expression.

Pecora can mean sheep, and in some contexts more specifically ewe.

Italian often uses pecora where English might simply say sheep. If the sex of the animal matters, context usually makes it clear.

So in a sentence like this, la pecora is usually best understood simply as the sheep, unless the broader context specifically emphasizes that it is female.

Yes. Italian word order is flexible, as long as the meaning stays clear.

The original sentence:

• A meno che non piova, domenica torneremo al pascolo per vedere di nuovo la pecora e la capra.

Possible variations:

• Domenica, a meno che non piova, torneremo al pascolo per vedere di nuovo la pecora e la capra.
• Torneremo domenica al pascolo, a meno che non piova, per vedere di nuovo la pecora e la capra.

The original version is very natural because it puts the condition first:

• Unless it rains...

That immediately frames the rest of the sentence.

Yes, you could. Both tornare and ritornare can mean to return / to go back.

• torneremo = we will return
• ritorneremo = we will return / come back again

In many contexts they are interchangeable, though ritornare can sometimes sound slightly more explicitly like returning back. In everyday use, tornare is extremely common and perfectly natural here.

No. You could also say rivedere.

So:

• per vedere di nuovo la pecora e la capra
• per rivedere la pecora e la capra

Both mean to see the sheep and the goat again.

The version with rivedere is a bit more compact. The version with vedere di nuovo is very transparent for learners and completely natural.

Yes:

• A meno che = unless
• non = expletive non used with a meno che
• piova = it rain / it should rain (subjunctive of piovere)
• domenica = on Sunday
• torneremo = we will return / go back
• al pascolo = to the pasture / grazing area
• per vedere = to see / in order to see
• di nuovo = again
• la pecora = the sheep
• e la capra = and the goat

So the structure is:

Unless it rains, on Sunday we will return to the pasture to see the sheep and the goat again.