Breakdown of Voglio allestire la sala prima che gli invitati arrivino.
arrivare
to arrive
volere
to want
allestire
to set up / to prepare (an exhibition, event)
la sala
the hall / the room
prima che
before
l'invitato
the guest (m)
Questions & Answers about Voglio allestire la sala prima che gli invitati arrivino.
Why do we use arrivino instead of arrivano here?
The phrase prima che (before) always requires the subjunctive mood. Because the action of the guests arriving hasn't happened yet at the time of setting up the hall, we use the present subjunctive arrivino instead of the normal present tense arrivano.
Could I say prima di instead of prima che in this sentence?
No, because the two actions have different subjects. The implied subject of the first part is I (who wants to set up the hall), but the guests are the ones arriving. You can only use prima di followed by an infinitive when the subject is the same for both actions, for example: Voglio allestire la sala prima di uscire (I want to set up the hall before I go out).
Allestire is a new word for me. Is it just the same as preparare?
They are very similar, but allestire is more specific. It means to set up, arrange, or equip a space for a specific purpose, like a party, an exhibition, or a theatrical play. Preparare is simply the general word for to prepare.
Why does the word for guests, invitati, look like a past tense verb?
It comes from the past participle of invitare (to invite). In Italian, it is very common to use a past participle as a noun to describe a group of people. So, gli invitati literally translates to the invited ones.
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