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Questo vestito era pulito quando siamo usciti, ma ora è pieno di fango.

Questo vestito era pulito quando siamo usciti, ma ora è pieno di fango.
This dress was clean when we went out, but now it is full of mud.
From Lesson 110:While and when (mentre, quando)·Italian

Questions & Answers about Questo vestito era pulito quando siamo usciti, ma ora è pieno di fango.

Why do we use quando with the passato prossimo (siamo usciti) here instead of the imperfetto?
We use quando (when) with the passato prossimo for completed, specific events in the past, like going out. If we wanted to describe an ongoing background action, we would use mentre (while) with the imperfetto instead.
Why is the first verb era in the imperfetto, while the second verb siamo usciti is in the passato prossimo?
Era pulito describes a past state or condition (how the dress looked). We always use the imperfetto for descriptions and ongoing states in the past, and the passato prossimo for specific events that happened during that time.
Why does usciti end in -i instead of -o?
The verb uscire (to go out) takes essere as its helping verb in the passato prossimo. When a verb takes essere, the past participle ending must agree with the subject. Since siamo means we, we use the plural ending -i.
Does vestito only mean a woman's dress?
It can mean a dress, but un vestito is also the general word for a suit. In the plural, i vestiti simply translates to clothes.
Why do we say pieno di fango instead of just pieno fango?
Just like in English, the adjective pieno (full) requires a preposition to connect it to the noun. In Italian, you use di to say full of.

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