Breakdown of Usiamo il motore, a meno che non ci sia vento.
essere
to be
usare
to use
il vento
wind
ci
there (clitic)
Questions & Answers about Usiamo il motore, a meno che non ci sia vento.
Why does the Italian sentence use non when the English translation is 'unless there is wind' (not 'isn't')?
The conjunction a meno che (unless) is usually followed by an extra non. This non is what linguists call 'pleonastic' - it doesn't actually make the verb negative, it is just a traditional part of the grammar for this expression.
Why do we use sia here instead of è?
The phrase a meno che non introduces a condition or exception that hasn't happened yet. In Italian, this uncertainty requires the subjunctive mood. So, the normal present tense changes to the present subjunctive.
I know sia is the subjunctive of essere (to be), but why is there a ci in front of it?
The verb here is actually esserci (to be there / to exist), which you already know from the phrase c'è (there is). Just like c'è is made of ci + è in the normal present tense, the subjunctive version is made of ci + sia.
Why doesn't vento have an article in front of it?