Whether you’ve just started out on your journey to Italian proficiency or already have a few months, or perhaps years, of learning experience under your belt, you may already be familiar with the word patto as it can frequently be found in Italian news reports, books and films. 

A patto (hear it pronounced here) is the Italian equivalent of the English ‘pact’, meaning a formal agreement between two or more parties. 

But what do Italians mean when they drop the word between the preposition a and the conjunction che, forming the phrase a patto che?

A patto che is one of the most commonly used Italian phrases to express that a certain thing will only happen (or be allowed to happen) if one or more conditions are met. 

Its literal English translation would be ‘on condition that’, but it’s far more frequently translated as ‘as long as’, ‘provided that’, or simply ‘if’.

Ti lascio andare alla festa solo a patto che tu finisca tutti i tuoi compiti.

I’ll let you go to the party only if you finish all of your homework.

Non ho nessun problema a visitare i tuoi genitori, a patto che non restiamo la’ tutto il weekend.

I have no problem visiting your parents as long as we don’t spend the entire weekend there.

A patto che is a fairly satisfying expression to use (if only for the joy of setting down a marker and stating the things you’re not willing to compromise on) but it does come with a downside.

As you may have seen from the above examples, it’s one of those expressions that requires the use of the Italian subjunctive (or congiuntivo), which isn’t exactly the easiest tense to learn.

Sono pronto a dirti il mio segreto, a patto che tu mi dica prima [second person singular of the subjunctive form of the verb dire, or ‘tell’] il tuo.

I’m willing to tell you my secret, provided that you tell me yours first.

But if you’re still unsure about your Italian subjunctive skills, don’t worry: in most cases, you’ll be able to use se (‘if’) – and the relevant present tense form – instead of a patto che. 

Sono pronto a dirti il mio segreto se tu mi dici prima il tuo.

I’m willing to tell you my secret if you tell me yours first.

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