Word
Verifico i documenti prima che gli invitati partano.
Meaning
I verify the documents before the guests leave.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Verifico i documenti prima che gli invitati partano.
il documento
the document
partire
to leave
prima che
before
l'invitato
the guest
Questions & Answers about Verifico i documenti prima che gli invitati partano.
Why is partano used here instead of partono?
Because the conjunction prima che (before) always requires the subjunctive mood to follow it. Since the main verb verifico is in the present tense, we use the present subjunctive partano for the guests.
Could I just say prima di instead of prima che here?
No, because the subjects of the two actions are different. You are verifying the documents, but the guests are leaving. You can only use prima di followed by an infinitive verb when the subject of both actions is exactly the same.
Is partano a regular conjugation in the subjunctive?
Yes. For regular -ire verbs like partire, the present subjunctive 'loro' (they) form ends in -ano. This can be tricky to remember because in the normal indicative present tense, the ending is -ono (as in partono).
Why use gli invitati for 'the guests' instead of gli ospiti?
Gli invitati literally means 'the invited people', which specifically refers to guests at a hosted event, like a party or wedding. Gli ospiti is a more general word for guests staying at a house or hotel.