Word
Navighiamo verso sud, a meno che il mare non sia agitato.
Meaning
We sail south, unless the sea is rough.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Navighiamo verso sud, a meno che il mare non sia agitato.
essere
to be
verso
toward
il mare
the sea
il sud
the south
Questions & Answers about Navighiamo verso sud, a meno che il mare non sia agitato.
Why is there a 'non' before 'sia agitato' if the English translation is positive?
Why is the verb sia used here instead of è?
The conjunction a meno che non introduces a condition or a hypothetical exception. In Italian, expressing this kind of uncertainty or condition requires the subjunctive mood, which is why we use sia (the present subjunctive of essere) rather than the indicative è.
Why do we say verso sud without an article instead of verso il sud?
When referring to points of the compass (north, south, east, west) directly after a directional preposition like verso (towards), Italian usually leaves out the definite article.