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Navighiamo verso l'isola, a meno che non ci sia nebbia.

Navighiamo verso l'isola, a meno che non ci sia nebbia.
We sail toward the island, unless there is fog.
From Lesson 277:Concessive conjunctions (a meno che non)·Italian

Questions & Answers about Navighiamo verso l'isola, a meno che non ci sia nebbia.

Why is there a non in a meno che non ci sia when the English translation isn't negative?
The non here doesn't actually negate the sentence. It is an extra word that traditionally completes the phrase a meno che non to mean "unless." Even though we say "unless there is fog" in English, Italian requires this extra non.
Why do we use sia here instead of è?
The conjunction a meno che non introduces a condition or hypothetical situation, which means it always requires the subjunctive mood. sia is the present subjunctive form of the verb essere (to be).
What is the word ci doing in front of sia?
It is part of the verb esserci (to be there). Just as c'è means "there is" in the regular present tense, ci sia is the subjunctive version of "there is."
Why is there no article before nebbia? Shouldn't it be la nebbia?
When describing general weather conditions or mass nouns with the verb esserci, Italian often drops the article just like English does. We say ci sia nebbia (there is fog) rather than specifying "there is the fog."

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