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Sii pronto, stiamo per preparare la tenda vicino al fiume.

Sii pronto, stiamo per preparare la tenda vicino al fiume.
Be ready, we are about to prepare the tent near the river.
From Lesson 121:Irregular informal commands (sii, fa', sta')·Italian

Questions & Answers about Sii pronto, stiamo per preparare la tenda vicino al fiume.

Why is it sii instead of sei for "be"?
Sii is the irregular informal command (imperative) for essere (to be) when speaking to one person (tu). The regular present tense is sei (you are), but to give an order or strong suggestion, you must use the special imperative form: Sii pronto! (Be ready!).
What does stiamo per mean before preparare?
The phrase stare per followed by a verb in its base form (the infinitive, like preparare) means "to be about to" do something. Here, stiamo per preparare means "we are about to prepare" or "we are about to set up".
If I am talking to a woman, does pronto change?
Yes! Because pronto is an adjective describing the person you are talking to, its ending must match their gender. If you are telling a woman to be ready, you need to change the ending to match: Sii pronta.
Why does the sentence use al fiume instead of just il fiume?
In Italian, the expression for "near" is vicino a (literally "near to"). When you combine the preposition a (to) with the masculine article il (the) used for fiume (river), they merge together into the combined word al.

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