Learn Italian: Qualcuno ha rubato il mio portafoglio ieri.

Qualcuno ha rubato il mio portafoglio ieri.

Someone stole my wallet yesterday.

Breakdown of Qualcuno ha rubato il mio portafoglio ieri.

Questions & Answers about Qualcuno ha rubato il mio portafoglio ieri.

Does qualcuno always take a singular verb?

Yes! Just like 'someone' in English, qualcuno acts as a singular subject. That is why we use the third-person singular form ha rubato (has stolen/stole) rather than a plural form, even if the 'someone' could have been a group of people.

Can I use qualcuna if I suspect a woman stole the wallet?

When the identity of the person is unknown, you always use the default masculine qualcuno. You only use the feminine qualcuna when referring to one person out of a specific feminine group, like 'one of the girls' (qualcuna delle ragazze).

Why is there an il before mio portafoglio?

In Italian, you generally must use a definite article (like il, la, i, le) before a possessive adjective. It literally translates to 'the my wallet'. The main exception to this rule is with singular close family members, like mio fratello (my brother), where you drop the article.

Could I use the imperfetto past tense (rubava) instead of ha rubato here?

No, because the theft was a single, completed event that happened at a specific time (ieri). The passato prossimo (ha rubato) is used for finished actions, whereas the imperfetto is for ongoing past habits or background descriptions.