Learn Italian: Il treno è in ritardo perché c'è uno sciopero. - The train is late because there is a strike.

Il treno è in ritardo perché c'è uno sciopero.

The train is late because there is a strike.

Breakdown of Il treno è in ritardo perché c'è uno sciopero.

a / an (masculine special)

c'è

there is / there are

Questions & Answers about Il treno è in ritardo perché c'è uno sciopero.

Could I use siccome instead of perché here?

In Italian, perché meaning "because" is normally placed in the middle of the sentence to connect two ideas, just like in this sentence. If you wanted to use siccome (since/because), you would flip the order and put it at the very beginning: Siccome c'è uno sciopero, il treno è in ritardo.

Why do we say in ritardo instead of a single adjective for "late"?

In Italian, being late is expressed with the phrase essere in ritardo (literally "to be in lateness"). You use this phrase for people, trains, or events that are running behind schedule.

Why is it c'è and not just è for "there is"?

C'è is the combination of ci (there) and è (is). You need the full word c'è to state that something exists ("there is"). If you just said è uno sciopero, it would mean "it is a strike" rather than "there is a strike".

How do I pronounce sciopero?

The letters sci make a "sh" sound, like in the English word "sheep". The stress is on the first syllable, so it is pronounced "SHOH-peh-roh".