Learn Italian: I miei fratelli erano spesso in cortile. - My brothers were often in the courtyard.

I miei fratelli erano spesso in cortile.

My brothers were often in the courtyard.

Breakdown of I miei fratelli erano spesso in cortile.

in / made of (material)

mio

Questions & Answers about I miei fratelli erano spesso in cortile.

Why do we use the imperfetto (erano) here instead of the passato prossimo?

We use the imperfetto because this sentence describes a habitual or repeated action in the past. The word spesso (often) tells us this was an ongoing habit—they "used to be" in the courtyard—rather than a single, completed event.

Why is there an i before miei fratelli? I thought we drop the article for family members.

You drop the article for singular family members, like mio fratello (my brother). However, when talking about plural family members, like fratelli (brothers), the rule changes and you must include the definite article: i miei fratelli.

Why is it in cortile and not nel cortile?

For specific parts of a house and its surroundings, Italian often uses just the preposition in without combining it with a definite article (like il). You will see this same pattern with in cucina (in the kitchen) and in giardino (in the garden).

Does the word spesso have to go right after the verb?

Not strictly! While putting adverbs of frequency immediately after the verb is very common and sounds natural, Italian word order is quite flexible. You could also put it at the beginning (Spesso i miei fratelli...) or at the very end of the sentence.