Breakdown of Siamo arrivati in tempo per l'ultimo treno.
essere
to be
il treno
the train
arrivare
to arrive
per
for / in order to / because of
ultimo
last (final)
in tempo
in time (to do something; cf. in orario = on schedule)
Questions & Answers about Siamo arrivati in tempo per l'ultimo treno.
Could I use in orario instead of in tempo in this sentence?
In this context, in tempo means you arrived 'in time' (before it was too late) to catch the train. If you used in orario, it would mean you arrived 'on time' or 'punctually' according to a schedule. Since you are talking about managing to catch a specific train, in tempo is the most natural choice.
Why is the auxiliary verb siamo instead of abbiamo?
If an all-female group is saying this, does the sentence change?
Yes! Because the helping verb is a form of essere, the past participle arrivati has to agree with the gender and number of the subject. If an all-female group is speaking, they would say Siamo arrivate. The ending -i is used for a group of men or a mixed-gender group.
Why does ultimo come before treno instead of after it?
While most descriptive adjectives in Italian go after the noun, adjectives that indicate order or rank—like ultimo (last), primo (first), and prossimo (next)—almost always go before the noun.
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