Question 1

Why is it saranno passati and not avranno passato?

Accepted Answer

The verb passare takes the auxiliary essere when it means to physically move, pass by, or pass through a place. Because it uses essere, the past participle must agree with the masculine plural subject (i passeggeri), ending in -i to become passati.

Question 2

What exactly does the future perfect tense (saranno passati) express in this sentence?

Accepted Answer

The futuro anteriore (future perfect) is used for an action that will be fully completed before another event in the future. In this case, it asks if the action of passing through customs will be finished before the departure takes place.

Question 3

Why do we use dalla (from the) instead of a word for "through" in dalla dogana?

Accepted Answer

While you might expect a literal translation like attraverso (through), Italian naturally pairs the verb passare with the preposition da to mean "to go through" or "to stop by" a specific place or checkpoint. Combined with the article la, it becomes dalla dogana.

Question 4

Why does the sentence use the infinitive partire instead of a conjugated verb like "partiranno"?

Accepted Answer

Because the subject is the same for both actions. When the people leaving are the same people passing through customs, Italian uses prima di followed by the infinitive (partire). You would only use prima che with a conjugated verb if there were two different subjects.

Prima di partire, i passeggeri saranno passati dalla dogana?

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