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Non avrei preso il traghetto, altrimenti sarei arrivato tardi.

Non avrei preso il traghetto, altrimenti sarei arrivato tardi.
I would not have taken the ferry, otherwise I would have arrived late.
From Lesson 189:The past conditional (avrei fatto, sarei andato)·Italian

Breakdown of Non avrei preso il traghetto, altrimenti sarei arrivato tardi.

essere
to be
non
not
avere
to have
prendere
to take
arrivare
to arrive
tardi
late
altrimenti
otherwise
il traghetto
the ferry

Questions & Answers about Non avrei preso il traghetto, altrimenti sarei arrivato tardi.

Why does the first half use avrei but the second half uses sarei?
The past conditional uses the exact same helping verbs (auxiliaries) as the passato prossimo. Because prendere (to take) takes avere, we use its present conditional form avrei. Because arrivare (to arrive) is a verb of motion and takes essere, we use sarei.
If a woman were speaking, would the sentence change?
Yes! Because the second half of the sentence uses the helping verb essere (sarei), the past participle must agree with the subject's gender and number. A female speaker would say sarei arrivata tardi. The first half uses avere, so preso stays exactly the same regardless of who is speaking.
Is preso a regular past participle?
No, it is the irregular past participle of prendere (to take). If it were regular, it would end in -uto, but prendere is a common irregular verb whose past participle you simply have to memorize.
How does the word altrimenti work with the past conditional in this sentence?
Altrimenti means "otherwise." It is used here to connect a hypothetical past choice (Non avrei preso il traghetto) with the imaginary consequence that would have followed (sarei arrivato tardi). It sets up a "what if" scenario about the past that avoided a negative outcome.

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