Learn Italian: Quando verranno qui, noi saremo già partiti. - When they come here, we will have already left.

Quando verranno qui, noi saremo già partiti.

When they come here, we will have already left.

Breakdown of Quando verranno qui, noi saremo già partiti.

Questions & Answers about Quando verranno qui, noi saremo già partiti.

Why is verranno in the future tense when the English translation uses the present tense?

In English, we often use the present tense after words like when to talk about the future. In Italian, if the event is happening in the future, you must use the future tense. So, quando verranno translates more literally to when they will come.

How is the future perfect formed in the phrase saremo partiti?

It is formed by taking the future tense of the helper verb essere (saremo) and adding the past participle of the main verb (partiti). You use essere here because partire (to leave) is a verb of movement, which requires essere as its helper.

Why does the past participle end with an i in partiti instead of an o?

Because the helper verb is essere, the past participle must agree with the subject (noi). Since noi is plural, the default ending changes to the plural form partiti (assuming a masculine or mixed group).

Where does the word già (already) go when using a compound tense like the future perfect?

Just like in the regular past tense, short adverbs like già are usually placed right between the helper verb (saremo) and the past participle (partiti).