When recovering from an injury, you often need to discuss timelines and limits. In Italian, use finché and finché non to express durations and endpoints.
Expressing "as long as" with finché
Use finché to connect two actions or states that happen at the same time. It describes a situation that remains true for the entire duration of another event.
| You cannot do physical therapy as long as you have the cast. | Non puoi fare la fisioterapia finché hai il gesso. |
| As long as you do physical therapy, you must use the crutch. | Finché fai la fisioterapia, devi usare la stampella. |
Expressing "until" with finché non
To express "until," add non to form finché non. The non here does not make the sentence negative; instead, it marks the endpoint when an ongoing situation changes.
| The physical therapist says to use the crutch until you walk well. | Il fisioterapista dice di usare la stampella finché non cammini bene. |
| The arm swelled up until they removed the cast. | Il braccio si è gonfiato finché non hanno rimosso il gesso. |
Remember that non must go directly before the verb. Even if you mention a specific subject (like the healing of a muscle tear), non stays attached to the verb.
| The physical therapist waits until the tear heals. | Il fisioterapista aspetta finché lo strappo non guarisce. |
| I must do physical therapy until May, or until the tear heals. | Devo fare la fisioterapia fino a maggio, o finché non guarisce lo strappo. |
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