La coppia ha divorziato l'anno scorso.

Because la coppia is grammatically singular in Italian.

Even though a couple contains two people, coppia is a singular noun, so the verb also stays singular:

• La coppia ha divorziato.
• not La coppia hanno divorziato.

This is similar to English the couple has divorced in standard singular agreement, although English is sometimes more flexible with collective nouns.

If you used a plural subject, then you would use hanno:

• I coniugi hanno divorziato. = The spouses got divorced.

Because divorziato here is a past participle used with avere in a compound tense: ha divorziato.

With avere, the past participle normally does not agree with the subject. So it stays in the default form, usually masculine singular:

• Maria ha mangiato
• La coppia ha divorziato
• Le coppie hanno divorziato

So even though coppia is feminine, you still say ha divorziato, not ha divorziata.

Compare that with an adjective or a verb with essere, where agreement does happen:

• Lei è divorziata. = She is divorced.
• Loro sono divorziati. = They are divorced.

It is the passato prossimo, one of the main Italian past tenses.

It is formed with:

• present tense of an auxiliary verb (avere or essere)
• • past participle

So here:

• ha = present of avere
• divorziato = past participle of divorziare

Together, ha divorziato means something like got divorced / divorced in this context.

This is a very common point of confusion.

In English, the present perfect usually does not go with a finished time expression like last year. So English says:

• The couple got divorced last year.

Italian is different. The passato prossimo can be used with finished time expressions such as:

• ieri = yesterday
• l'anno scorso = last year
• due giorni fa = two days ago

So ha divorziato l'anno scorso is completely normal Italian.

In other words:

• Italian passato prossimo does not match English present perfect exactly.
• Depending on context, it may translate as English simple past.

Because divorziare takes avere in standard Italian when used as a verb meaning to get divorced / to divorce.

So you say:

• Ho divorziato
• Hai divorziato
• La coppia ha divorziato

This is just something learners need to memorize, because auxiliary choice in Italian is not always predictable from English.

A useful contrast is:

• ha divorziato = got divorced
• è divorziato/a = is divorced

So avere is used for the action/event, while essere is used for the state or description.

In standard Italian, no—not for this meaning.

The normal verb is divorziare, not a reflexive form. So you say:

• Maria ha divorziato da suo marito.
• La coppia ha divorziato.

Not normally:

• Maria si è divorziata

If you want to describe someone’s status, you use essere divorziato/a:

• Maria è divorziata.

So the distinction is:

• ha divorziato = she got divorced
• è divorziata = she is divorced

Literally, coppia means couple or pair.

In this sentence, because the context is divorce, la coppia clearly refers to two spouses or partners considered as one unit.

So it is not focusing on each person separately, but on the couple as a single entity.

That is why the singular verb makes sense:

• La coppia ha divorziato.

If you wanted to focus on the two individuals, you might say:

• I due hanno divorziato.
• I coniugi hanno divorziato.

L'anno scorso literally means the year past or the last year, but in natural English it means last year.

The l' is just the definite article il shortened before a vowel:

• il anno is impossible
• l'anno is correct

So:

• l'anno scorso = last year

Italian often uses an article in time expressions where English does not.

Because many expressions of time in Italian work directly, without a preposition.

You can simply say:

• ieri = yesterday
• lunedì = on Monday
• l'anno scorso = last year
• due mesi fa = two months ago

So La coppia ha divorziato l'anno scorso is perfectly normal.

English often uses words like on, in, or no preposition depending on the expression. Italian has its own patterns, and l'anno scorso does not need a preposition here.

Yes. L'anno scorso and lo scorso anno both mean last year.

Both are correct:

• La coppia ha divorziato l'anno scorso.
• La coppia ha divorziato lo scorso anno.

They are very close in meaning. L'anno scorso is especially common in everyday speech.

You may also hear:

• l'anno passato

but l'anno scorso is the most common and natural choice for most learners to use.

You use da.

Examples:

• Ha divorziato da sua moglie.
• Ha divorziato da suo marito.

Because of article + preposition combinations, you may also see:

• dal marito
• dalla moglie

For example:

• Ha divorziato dal marito l'anno scorso.

So a useful pattern is:

• divorziare da qualcuno = to divorce / get divorced from someone

Here, it is part of a verb form: the past participle in ha divorziato.

But divorziato/divorziata can also be an adjective.

Compare:

• La coppia ha divorziato l'anno scorso.
  Here it is verbal: got divorced last year.

• Lei è divorziata.
  Here it is adjectival: she is divorced.

That is an important difference:

• avere + divorziato = action/event
• essere + divorziato/a = state/status