ELONIO
Log inSign up

La ragazza è innocente e non stava mentendo.

La ragazza è innocente e non stava mentendo.
The girl is innocent and she was not lying.
From Lesson 107:The past progressive (stavo mangiando)·Italian

Questions & Answers about La ragazza è innocente e non stava mentendo.

How is mentendo formed from the dictionary verb?
It comes from the verb mentire (to lie). To make the gerund (the equivalent of an English "-ing" word) for verbs ending in "-ere" and "-ire", you drop that ending and add "-endo". So, mentire becomes mentendo.
Could we just say non mentiva instead of non stava mentendo?
Yes, non mentiva (using the regular imperfect tense) also works and translates to "she wasn't lying." However, using the past progressive (stava + gerund) strongly emphasizes the action happening at that exact, ongoing moment in the past.
Where does the negative word non go in a past progressive sentence?
It always goes directly before the conjugated part of the verb. Here, that is the helper verb stava, making the phrase non stava mentendo.
Since ragazza is feminine, why doesn't the adjective end in "-a" (innocenta)?
Adjectives that end in "-e" in the dictionary singular form, like innocente, are used for both masculine and feminine nouns. They do not change based on gender, but they do change to "-i" in the plural (innocenti).

Learn La ragazza è innocente e non stava mentendo and more in Italian

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.

  • ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
  • ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
  • ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free
Start learning Italian →