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Quella leggenda è stata raccontata dai nonni intorno al fuoco.

Quella leggenda è stata raccontata dai nonni intorno al fuoco.
That legend was told by the grandparents around the fire.
FromLesson 30inHardcore Italian

Breakdown of Quella leggenda è stata raccontata dai nonni intorno al fuoco.

quella
that
da
by
raccontare
to tell
il nonno
the grandfather
la leggenda
the legend
intorno a
around
il fuoco
the fire

Questions & Answers about Quella leggenda è stata raccontata dai nonni intorno al fuoco.

What does Quella mean, and why do we use quella leggenda instead of questa leggenda?
Quella means “that” (feminine singular). We use quella leggenda to refer to a legend that is more distant in context or has already been mentioned. Questa leggenda would mean “this legend,” something very close or just being introduced.
How is the passive voice formed in è stata raccontata?
Italian passive is formed with the verb essere + past participle. Here è stata is the third-person singular of essere in the present perfect (passato prossimo), and raccontata is the past participle of raccontare.
Why does the past participle raccontata end in -a?
In Italian passive, the past participle agrees in gender and number with the subject. Leggenda is feminine singular, so raccontato becomes raccontata.
Why do we say dai nonni and not just da nonni?
When specifying a definite agent in passive sentences, Italian uses da plus the definite article: dai = da + i. Thus dai nonni means “by the grandparents.” Omitting the article sounds incomplete.
Could we express this idea in the active voice? How?
Yes. In active voice it would be I nonni hanno raccontato quella leggenda intorno al fuoco (“The grandparents told that legend around the fire”).
What is passato prossimo, and could we use a different tense like the imperfetto in this sentence?

Passato prossimo describes completed past actions. You could use the imperfetto passive to emphasize a habitual or ongoing action:
Quella leggenda veniva raccontata dai nonni intorno al fuoco
(“That legend used to be told by the grandparents around the fire”).

What does intorno al fuoco mean, and why is a + il contracted to al?
Intorno means “around,” and it takes the preposition a for position. A + il contracts to al, so intorno al fuoco = “around the fire.”
Can we use attorno al fuoco instead of intorno al fuoco? Are they the same?
Yes. Attorno a and intorno a both mean “around” in a spatial sense. So attorno al fuoco is also correct, though intorno can also mean “about” or “approximately” in other contexts.
What’s the difference between fu raccontata and è stata raccontata?
Fu raccontata uses the passato remoto (simple past), which is more common in written, literary narrative. È stata raccontata uses the passato prossimo, typical in spoken and general written Italian for past events.
How do you pronounce Quella leggenda è stata raccontata dai nonni intorno al fuoco?

Phonetic approximation:
quella [ˈkwɛl.la] with a geminated ll
leggenda [ledˈdʒɛn.da] with a /dʒ/ sound for gg and stress on the penultimate syllable
è stata raccontata dai nonni intorno al fuoco [ɛ ˈsta.ta rak.konˈta.ta daj ˈnɔn.ni inˈtor.no al ˈfwɔ.ko]

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