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Questions & Answers about Grazie all’atletica ha imparato a gestire ogni imprevisto con calma.
Why is grazie a used in this sentence?
In Italian, grazie a expresses a positive cause or reason—very much like “thanks to” in English. It introduces something that produced a beneficial result. If the cause were negative, you would use a causa di instead.
Why does a + l’atletica become all’atletica?
The preposition a combines with the definite article la:
• a + la = alla
Before a vowel, la contracts to l’, so you get a + l’atletica = all’atletica.
Why isn’t there a subject pronoun before ha imparato?
Italian verbs carry endings that clearly show person and number. Ha imparato is third-person singular (“he/she learned”), so the subject pronoun (lui/lei) is unnecessary and usually omitted.
Why is imprevisto singular when it’s preceded by ogni?
After ogni (“every” or “each”), the following noun must be singular—hence ogni imprevisto (“every unexpected event”), never ogni imprevisti.
Could you use tutti gli imprevisti instead of ogni imprevisto?
Yes, but the nuance changes:
- ogni imprevisto focuses on each individual occurrence (“each time something unexpected happens”).
- tutti gli imprevisti refers collectively to all such events (“every unexpected event as a group”).
Why is con calma used rather than the adverb calmamente?
Both are grammatically correct, but con calma (“with calm”) is more idiomatic in everyday Italian. Calmamente exists but feels more formal or literary.
Should there be a comma after Grazie all’atletica?
Short introductory phrases in Italian often don’t require a comma if the flow is natural. Inserting one isn’t wrong, but it’s optional here.