SUBORDINATE ADVERSATIVE CLAUSES

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The subordinate adversative clauses indicate an obstacle for the action of the supporting clause.

Example:
" Marco lavora ancora, quando dovrebbe già essere a casa. "

In the explicit form these clauses are introduced by these conjunctions:

• mentre (invece)

  Example:
  "Anna scrive una lettera a mano a Marco, mentre può spedire un'email."

• quando (invece)

  Example:
  "I bambini giocano, quando invece dovrebbero essere a letto."

Attention:
In explicit form these clauses use the indicative mood.

Note:
These clauses follow the rules of the time concordance.

In implicit form these clauses are introduced by:

• invece di + infinitive

  Example:
  "Anna scrive una lettera a mano a Marco, invece di spedire un'email."

• anziché + infinitive

  Example:
  "I bambini giocano, quando anziché essere a letto."

Attention:
In implicit form these clauses practically only use the infinitive mood.

Note:
These clauses can be contemporary to the supporting (with present infinitive) or anterior (with past infinitive).

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