Learn Italian: Ha spiegato che avrebbe fatto tardi per un contrattempo. - He explained that he would be late due to an unexpected problem.

Ha spiegato che avrebbe fatto tardi per un contrattempo.

He explained that he would be late due to an unexpected problem.

Breakdown of Ha spiegato che avrebbe fatto tardi per un contrattempo.

for / in order to / because of

Questions & Answers about Ha spiegato che avrebbe fatto tardi per un contrattempo.

Why is the past conditional (avrebbe fatto) used here for 'would be late'?

In Italian, when you have a reporting verb in the past (like ha spiegato) and you want to express an action that was going to happen after that moment, you must use the past conditional. This is called the 'future in the past'. While English uses 'would' plus the base verb, Italian requires the past conditional (avrebbe fatto).

Why does the sentence use the verb fare (fatto) instead of essere for being late?

Italian frequently uses the expression fare tardi to mean 'to arrive late' or 'to be late'. You could also say sarebbe stato in ritardo (using essere in ritardo), but fare tardi is very common and natural in everyday speech.

Does per just mean 'for' here, or does it mean 'due to'?

Here, per is used to show the cause or reason for being late. In this context, it is best translated as 'due to' or 'because of'. Whenever you want to say 'because of' followed by a noun, per is a great choice.

What exactly is a contrattempo?

It is a very handy compound noun made of contro (against) and tempo (time). It refers to a hitch, a setback, or an unexpected delay that disrupts your plans.