Breakdown of Il grafico deve posticipare il progetto, altrimenti il supervisore si arrabbia.
il progetto
the project
dovere
must
arrabbiarsi
to get angry
altrimenti
otherwise
il supervisore
the supervisor
il grafico
the chart
posticipare
to postpone
Questions & Answers about Il grafico deve posticipare il progetto, altrimenti il supervisore si arrabbia.
Why is si arrabbia in the present indicative after altrimenti? Shouldn't a condition use the conditional or subjunctive?
Altrimenti (otherwise) connects two statements, but it doesn't automatically trigger the subjunctive or conditional. Since the supervisor's anger is seen as a guaranteed, factual consequence of not postponing the project, the present indicative (si arrabbia) is used. You would only use the conditional here if the consequence were hypothetical (e.g., 'he would get angry').
Is il grafico a false friend here?
Could I use rimandare instead of posticipare?
Yes, rimandare (to put off or delay) is a great alternative. Posticipare is slightly more formal and very common in professional or business contexts, making it a perfect fit for this sentence about projects and supervisors.
I know arrabbiare relates to anger, but why do we use the reflexive si arrabbia here?
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