Learn Italian: Prima c'erano persone diverse in questo ufficio. - Before, there were different people in this office.

Prima c'erano persone diverse in questo ufficio.

Before, there were different people in this office.

Breakdown of Prima c'erano persone diverse in questo ufficio.

Questions & Answers about Prima c'erano persone diverse in questo ufficio.

Why do we use c'erano instead of c'era here?

C'erano means "there were", and it is the plural form of c'era ("there was"). We use it here because it introduces persone (people), which is plural. It is the past tense (imperfetto) version of ci sono ("there are").

Why is this sentence using the imperfetto tense (c'erano) rather than a completed past tense?

The imperfetto is used to describe ongoing states, habits, or background situations in the past. Here, you are describing how the office used to be over a period of time, rather than a specific, one-time action that started and finished.

Why does diverse end with an -e?

In Italian, adjectives must match the noun they describe in gender and number. The noun persone is feminine plural (the singular is la persona). Therefore, the adjective diverso changes its ending to match, becoming the feminine plural diverse.

Would the meaning change if we said diverse persone instead of persone diverse?

Yes! When placed after the noun (persone diverse), it means "different" people. If placed before the noun (diverse persone), the meaning changes to "several" or "various" people.