Breakdown of Ci trasferiamo in Francia tra tre giorni.
in
in / made of (material)
tre
three
il giorno
the day
la Francia
France
Questions & Answers about Ci trasferiamo in Francia tra tre giorni.
Why do we use tra here instead of translating the English word "in" directly?
When you want to say that something will happen at a future point—like "in three days" from now—Italian uses tra (or its exact synonym, fra). If you actually used the word in and said in tre giorni, it would mean it takes you exactly three days of non-stop effort to complete the physical act of moving!
Why does the sentence use the present tense (ci trasferiamo) for an event happening in the future?
Just like in English ("We are moving"), Italian often uses the present tense to talk about fixed plans in the near future. Because the time phrase tra tre giorni makes it obvious when this is happening, the present tense works perfectly. You could also use the future tense (ci trasferiremo), but the present is very common and natural here.
Why is there a ci at the beginning of the sentence?
This comes from the verb trasferirsi (to relocate/move one's home). It is a reflexive verb, meaning the action reflects back on the subject. The ci is the reflexive pronoun for "we" (noi). It's as if you are saying "we relocate ourselves." You must use trasferirsi because the regular verb for "to move" (muovere) is only used for physically moving objects or body parts.
Why is the preposition in used for in Francia instead of a?