Breakdown of Avrei dormito meglio se l'aria non fosse entrata così forte.
io
I
dormire
to sleep
entrare
to enter
non
not
così
so
se
if
meglio
better
forte
strong
l'aria
the air
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Questions & Answers about Avrei dormito meglio se l'aria non fosse entrata così forte.
What does Avrei dormito meglio mean literally, and what tense is used?
Literally, Avrei dormito meglio means “I would have slept better.” It uses the Italian conditional perfect (condizionale passato), formed by the auxiliary avrei (I would have) + past participle dormito (slept).
Why is l’aria non fosse entrata in the subjunctive, and which subjunctive tense is it?
Because the sentence describes a past, unreal condition (you didn’t actually sleep better). In Italian, the “if” clause of a counterfactual past uses the past subjunctive (congiuntivo trapassato). Here fosse entrata is the third-person singular of that tense, built with the subjunctive of essere (fosse) + past participle entrata.
Why can’t we say se l’aria non sarebbe entrata (using the conditional) instead of fosse entrata?
Italian grammar requires the subjunctive in the protasis (the “if” part) of an unreal/past condition. The conditional (sarebbe entrata) belongs in the main clause when describing the hypothetical result, not in the “if” clause.
Why does entrare take essere (fosse entrata) instead of avere?
Verbs of movement (like entrare, “to enter”) use essere as their auxiliary in compound tenses. That’s why we say è entrata in the present perfect and fosse entrata in the past subjunctive.
Why is così forte used here instead of così fortemente?
Although fortemente is the regular adverb form, forte can also function adverbially in Italian, especially in spoken or familiar contexts. Così forte sounds more natural when referring to a strong draft of air.
Why is there a definite article l’ before aria?
Italian often uses the definite article before general or countable nouns. Here l’aria refers to “the air” (i.e., the specific draft that came in), so the article is required.
Could we change the word order to se non fosse entrata così forte l’aria?
Yes, Italian allows some flexibility. Placing l’aria after the verb is grammatical and might even emphasize entrance. However, the original order (se l’aria non fosse entrata così forte) is more neutral and common.
How would you translate the whole sentence into English?
“I would have slept better if the air hadn’t come in so strongly.”