Learn Hardcore Italian: Ero dubbioso anch’io, poi la sua risposta mi ha convinto. - I was doubtful too, then her answer convinced me.

The imperfect (ero) describes a background state or ongoing condition in the past (“I was in a doubtful state”). The passato prossimo (sono stato dubbioso) would sound like a completed action or a sudden state, which is less natural for expressing a feeling that was there before being convinced.

What exactly does the adjective dubbioso mean, and could I use diffidente instead?

Dubbioso means “doubtful” or “uncertain,” referring to your own hesitation about something. Diffidente means “mistrustful” or “suspicious,” implying distrust of someone’s intentions. They’re related but not interchangeable: you’re dubbioso about an idea; you’re diffidente toward a person.

Why is anch’io placed after dubbioso instead of at the beginning of the sentence?

Word order in Italian is flexible. Placing anch’io at the end emphasizes “I, too” as an afterthought (“I, too, was doubtful”). You could also say Anch’io ero dubbioso, which puts the emphasis earlier. Both are correct; they just shift the focus slightly.

Why is there an apostrophe in anch’io?

The apostrophe marks the elision of the e in anche before the vowel i of io. So anche io becomes anch’io to make pronunciation smoother.

What is the role of poi in this sentence, and could I put a comma after it?

Poi means “then” or “afterward,” signaling a shift from your previous doubt to what happened next. You can write Poi, la sua risposta mi ha convinto if you want a stronger pause, but Poi la sua risposta… without a comma is also perfectly acceptable.

Why is the passato prossimo mi ha convinto used here instead of an imperfect form?

The passato prossimo (ha convinto) is used for a specific event that occurred and brought about a change—the moment when the answer actually convinced you. The imperfect would describe an ongoing action or state in the past, which wouldn’t capture that sudden shift.

What does the pronoun mi represent in mi ha convinto, and why doesn’t convinto agree in gender or number?

Mi is an indirect object pronoun meaning “to me.” With verbs like convincere, the thing that convinces is a direct object (“la sua risposta”), while the person convinced is an indirect object. Since convinto agrees only with a preceding direct object pronoun (e.g. la risposta is feminine, but it’s not a clitic), there’s no participle agreement here.

Can I contract mi ha convinto to m’ha convinto, and is that common in spoken Italian?

Yes, you can say m’ha convinto. In informal spoken and written Italian, clitic pronouns often attach to the auxiliary: ti ho → t’ho, ci ha → c’ha, etc. It’s very common in conversation.

Could la sua risposta refer to either his or her answer? How would I clarify it if needed?

Yes, sua is gender-neutral in Italian and can mean “his” or “her.” If you need to specify, you can add a name or pronoun: la risposta di Marco or la risposta di Maria, or even la sua risposta (di lei) for “her answer.”