Learn Hardcore Italian: Avresti potuto portare la cartella con te, ma almeno hai preso la chiavetta. - You could have brought the folder with you, but at least you took the USB drive.

It’s the past conditional of potere plus the infinitive portare. It expresses a hypothetical action in the past—a missed opportunity. In English: “you could have brought.”

What is the difference between avresti potuto and potevi?

potevi is the imperfect tense (“you were able/capable of”), describing a general ability or circumstance in the past. avresti potuto is the conditional perfect (“you could have”), highlighting a specific chance that didn’t happen.

Why do we say portare la cartella con te instead of portarti la cartella?

portare la cartella con te literally means “carry the folder with you.” Using portarti la cartella shifts the focus to “bring the folder to you” (dative). In this context, the speaker means “you could have taken (carried along) the bag.”

Can we replace portare la cartella con te with a clitic pronoun?

Yes: avresti potuto portarla con te, where la replaces la cartella. In conversation you might also hear te la saresti potuta portare, but it sounds heavier and less common.

What is the function of almeno here?

almeno means “at least.” It introduces a consolation or silver lining: even though you didn’t bring the folder, “at least you took the USB stick.”

Why is hai preso used instead of avresti preso in the second clause?

The first clause is a hypothetical regret (conditional perfect). The second clause states a real past action, so it uses the passato prossimo (hai preso) to mean “you did take.”

Why is chiavetta used for “USB stick,” and why is it feminine?

chiavetta is short for chiavetta USB, the common Italian term for a USB flash drive. It is grammatically feminine, so we say la chiavetta.

Could we replace hai preso la chiavetta with a clitic pronoun?

Absolutely. You can say l’hai presa, where l’ = la chiavetta and presa agrees in gender. It’s shorter and very common in spoken Italian.