Question 1

Why doesn't this sentence use the Futuro Anteriore (future perfect) like other sentences in this lesson?

Accepted Answer

The Futuro Anteriore is used for a sequence of events, when one action finishes before another begins (like 'After we have waited...'). Here, the phrase intanto che means 'while.' Because both actions (waiting and reading) are happening at the exact same time, they use the same tense rather than a sequence of tenses.

Question 2

What is the difference between intanto che and mentre?

Accepted Answer

They both mean 'while' and can be used interchangeably when two actions happen simultaneously. Mentre is the most standard word for 'while,' but intanto che (literally 'in the meantime that') is very common in spoken Italian to emphasize filling a block of time.

Question 3

If this takes place in the future, could we use the simple future tense here?

Accepted Answer

Yes! If this is happening later, you could say Intanto che aspetteremo, leggerò il giornale. Notice that Italian uses the future tense for both verbs when the simultaneous actions are in the future. However, Italians frequently use the present tense for near-future plans, which is why the present tense works perfectly in this sentence.

Question 4

I usually see aspettare translated as 'to wait for.' Do we need to add a preposition if we are waiting for something specific?

Accepted Answer

No, the verb aspettare directly takes an object without needing a preposition. Even though there is no object in this specific sentence, if you wanted to say 'while we wait for the train,' it would simply be intanto che aspettiamo il treno, without translating the English word 'for'.

Intanto che aspettiamo, leggo il giornale.

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