È grave che succedano incidenti in un'emergenza.
It is serious that accidents happen in an emergency.
Breakdown of È grave che succedano incidenti in un'emergenza.
essere
to be
una
a / an (feminine)
in
in / made of (material)
succedere
to happen
l'incidente
the accident (m)
grave
serious, grave (severe)
che
that (conjunction introducing a clause)
l'emergenza
the emergency (f)
Questions & Answers about È grave che succedano incidenti in un'emergenza.
Why is succedano in the subjunctive here?
The sentence starts with È grave che (It is serious that). This is an impersonal expression that states a judgment or an opinion. In Italian, impersonal expressions followed by che generally require the verb in the dependent clause to be in the subjunctive mood.
Why does the verb succedano come before the subject incidenti?
In Italian, you can often flip the typical "subject-verb" order, especially with verbs that describe something happening, arriving, or existing. Saying che succedano incidenti sounds very natural to Italians because it puts the emphasis on the event itself, though che incidenti succedano is also grammatically correct.
What is the infinitive of succedano, and is it regular in the subjunctive?
The infinitive is succedere (to happen). It is a regular -ere verb in the present subjunctive. For regular -ere and -ire verbs, the plural "they" (loro) ending in the present subjunctive is -ano, which gives us succedano.
Why is there an apostrophe in un'emergenza?
Emergenza is a feminine noun starting with a vowel. The feminine indefinite article is una. When una is followed by a vowel, it drops the final "a" and adds an apostrophe to make pronunciation smoother. As a quick reminder: the masculine article un (like in un amico) never uses an apostrophe!
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