Learn Italian: Lucideremo il legno solo dopo che avremo messo la cera. - We will polish the wood only after we have put on the wax.

Lucideremo il legno solo dopo che avremo messo la cera.

We will polish the wood only after we have put on the wax.

Breakdown of Lucideremo il legno solo dopo che avremo messo la cera.

to put / to put on / play (music)

solo

only

Questions & Answers about Lucideremo il legno solo dopo che avremo messo la cera.

Why does the Italian use avremo messo (will have put) when the English translation just says "have put"?

In Italian, when two actions happen in the future, the action that must be completed first is put in the Futuro Anteriore (Future Perfect). Since putting on the wax happens before polishing the wood (lucideremo), Italian requires this tense, even though English usually just uses the present perfect after "after".

Why is it dopo che instead of just dopo?

You use dopo on its own when it is followed by a noun or a pronoun, like dopo la cena (after dinner). When you follow it with a conjugated verb phrase like avremo messo, you must use dopo che.

Is messo an irregular past participle?

Yes. The verb mettere (to put) is irregular, so its past participle is messo rather than following the regular pattern. Because it uses the helper verb avere in this sentence (avremo), the ending stays as -o and does not change to match who is doing the action.

Does solo have to go exactly where it is in this sentence?

Placing solo directly before dopo che emphasizes that the polishing will happen only under that specific time condition. You could also move the whole dependent clause to the front for a similar effect: Solo dopo che avremo messo la cera, lucideremo il legno.