Word
Se puliremo il mare, i rifiuti diminuiranno.
Meaning
If we clean the sea, the waste will decrease.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Se puliremo il mare, i rifiuti diminuiranno.
pulire
to clean
il mare
sea
se
if
diminuire
to decrease
Questions & Answers about Se puliremo il mare, i rifiuti diminuiranno.
Why does the Italian sentence use the future tense puliremo when the English translation says 'If we clean'?
In English, we use the present tense after 'if' for future events ('If we clean...'). In Italian, when the result happens in the future, the condition must also be in the future tense. So, both verbs use the futuro semplice: Se puliremo... diminuiranno (literally: 'If we will clean... they will decrease').
How are puliremo and diminuiranno formed from their infinitives?
To form the future tense for regular -ire verbs, you simply drop the final -e from the infinitive and add the future endings. You keep the i, unlike -are verbs where the vowel changes. Pulire becomes pulir- + -emo = puliremo (we will clean). Diminuire becomes diminuir- + -anno = diminuiranno (they will decrease).
Pulire and diminuire both use -isc- in the present tense (like pulisco). Do I need to add -isc- in the future tense too?
No, you leave it out! The -isc- pattern is only used in the present tense. The future tense is much simpler because it is built directly from the infinitive, so puliremo and diminuiranno do not need the -isc- added to them.
Why is i rifiuti plural if the English translation says 'the waste'?