Breakdown of Volevano rinnovare il museo, ma non lo hanno ancora cambiato.
ma
but
non
not
avere
to have
il museo
the museum
volere
to want
ancora
yet / still
lo
him/it (direct object)
cambiare
to change
rinnovare
to renovate
Questions & Answers about Volevano rinnovare il museo, ma non lo hanno ancora cambiato.
Why is ancora placed between hanno and cambiato?
When using non ... ancora (not yet) with a two-part verb like the passato prossimo, the word ancora usually goes right between the helping verb (hanno) and the past participle (cambiato). The word non always goes before the entire verb block.
Where does the pronoun lo (it) go when using non ... ancora?
Direct object pronouns like lo (which stands for il museo) go immediately before the helping verb (hanno), but after the non. So the exact order you need to remember is: non + pronoun + helping verb + ancora + past participle.
Why does the first verb use the imperfetto (volevano) but the second uses the passato prossimo (hanno cambiato)?
We use the imperfetto (volevano) to describe an ongoing state of mind or intention in the past (they had the ongoing desire to renovate). We use the passato prossimo (hanno cambiato) to talk about specific, completed events, or in this case, a specific action that hasn't happened yet up to the present moment.
Does the ending of cambiato have to match the pronoun lo?
Yes! When you use a direct object pronoun like lo, la, li, or le before the passato prossimo, the past participle must match the pronoun's gender and number. Since lo refers to il museo (masculine singular), cambiato ends in -o. If they hadn't yet changed a feminine word like la mostra (the exhibition), it would be non l'hanno ancora cambiata.
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