A participle instead of a clause
Dopo che ho finito il lavoro, sono uscito is correct but long-winded. Italian prefers the short form: Finito il lavoro, sono uscito. The participle comes first, the noun follows, a comma separates the whole thing from the main clause. In English: once the work was finished, I went out.
The construction is called the participio passato assoluto, absolute because it needs no auxiliary and no conjunction. It says: whatever the participle names was already over when the main clause happened.
From clause to participle
English has a similar construction (the work finished, I went out; dinner over, they left), but it is rare and literary, and the noun comes first. In Italian it is ordinary written language, and the participle comes first. In newspapers and non-fiction it is very frequent; in conversation you mostly hear stock phrases like finito questo, una volta arrivati and detto questo.
How the sentence is built
First the participle, then the noun, then a comma, then the main clause. There is no auxiliary, neither essere nor avere. English having finished or with the work finished do not carry over.
Finita la riunione, siamo andati a pranzo.
The meeting over, we went to lunch.
Chiuse le finestre, sono andato a dormire.
Once I had closed the windows, I went to bed.
If the noun comes first, finito is read as a plain adjective: il lavoro finito is the finished work. For the reduced clause the participle comes first.
What the participle agrees with
English finished never changes, so this step gets skipped. The Italian participle always agrees with the noun it belongs to. There is no invariable form in -o as in the passato prossimo with avere. Whether the noun is an object or a subject depends on the verb.
Verb with an object or verb with essere
Verb with an object: agrees with the object
The noun would be the object of the verb. The meaning is passive: after X had been done.
Letti i documenti, ho firmato.
Once I had read the documents, I signed.
Pagate le bollette, non mi resta niente.
With the bills paid, I have nothing left.
Verb with essere: agrees with the subject
The noun is the subject of the verb. With no noun, the participle follows the subject of the main clause.
Partita Giulia, la casa è sembrata enorme.
Once Giulia had left, the flat seemed enormous.
Arrivati a casa, abbiamo cenato subito.
Having arrived home, we ate right away.
Four endings, one reference word
| Reference word | Sentence | English |
|---|---|---|
| il lavoro (masc. sg.) | Finito il lavoro, sono uscito. | Once the work was done, I went out. |
| la lezione (fem. sg.) | Finita la lezione, sono uscito. | Once the class was over, I went out. |
| i compiti (masc. pl.) | Finiti i compiti, sono uscito. | Once the homework was done, I went out. |
| le pulizie (fem. pl.) | Finite le pulizie, sono uscito. | Once the cleaning was done, I went out. |
Longer phrases and openers
More than a bare noun may follow the participle. Considerati tutti i fattori is built exactly like Finito il lavoro, only longer. Such formulas are typical of non-fiction and argument; English all things considered is the same move.
Considerati tutti i fattori, la decisione mi sembra giusta.
All factors considered, the decision seems right to me.
Esclusa l'ipotesi di un errore tecnico, resta poco da dire.
With a technical error ruled out, there is little left to say.
Detto questo, non sono del tutto d'accordo.
That said, I don't entirely agree.
In conversation, una volta or appena often stands in front of the participle. It makes the anteriority explicit and changes nothing about the agreement.
Una volta arrivati in albergo, ti scrivo.
Once we get to the hotel, I'll text you.
Una volta capito il meccanismo, il resto è facile.
Once you've understood the mechanism, the rest is easy.
Appena finito il film, siamo andati a letto.
As soon as the film was over, we went to bed.
The subject may change
The noun next to the participle is its own subject or object, so the main clause may have a different subject. English style guides call that a dangling participle (having finished the work, the door was locked); in the Italian assoluto it is normal. The alternative dopo aver plus participle needs the same subject in both halves.
Partito il treno, siamo tornati a casa.
The train gone, we went back home.
the train and we: two different subjects
Dopo aver finito il lavoro, sono uscito.
After finishing the work, I went out.
I and I: the same subject
What English speakers get wrong
English normally uses a clause (once the meeting was over) or having plus participle (having arrived home). Italian drops the conjunction, the subject pronoun and the auxiliary, keeps the participle, and puts it in front of the noun.
Finita la riunione, siamo andati a mangiare.
Once the meeting was over, we went to eat.
Arrivati a casa, abbiamo cucinato.
Having arrived home, we cooked.
