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Si aspettano gli ospiti davanti alla chiesa.

Si aspettano gli ospiti davanti alla chiesa.
One waits for the guests in front of the church.
From Lesson 97:Impersonal subjects (si)·Italian

Questions & Answers about Si aspettano gli ospiti davanti alla chiesa.

Why is the verb plural (aspettano) when the English translation says 'One waits' (singular)?
This is a very important rule for the impersonal si. When the verb is followed by a direct object, the si construction acts like a passive voice (literally: 'the guests are waited for'). Because the object, gli ospiti (the guests), is plural, the verb must agree with it and take the plural form: aspettano.
Where is the word for 'for' in this sentence? Doesn't aspettare just mean 'to wait'?
In Italian, you don't need a preposition to say you are waiting for someone. The verb aspettare directly connects to its object. So, 'to wait for the guests' is simply aspettare gli ospiti.
Why is the article gli used for ospiti instead of i?
Ospiti is a masculine plural noun starting with a vowel. For most masculine plural nouns, we use the article i (like i cani), but if the word starts with a vowel, an 's' plus a consonant, or a 'z', we must use gli instead.
Why do we use alla before chiesa instead of just la?
The phrase for 'in front of' is davanti a. When the preposition a is followed by a feminine noun like chiesa, it requires the definite article la ('the church'). In Italian, a + la must combine into the single word alla.

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