ELONIO
Log inSign up

Avevo scattato la foto, ma il soggetto era sfocato.

Avevo scattato la foto, ma il soggetto era sfocato.
I had taken the photo, but the subject was blurry.
From Lesson 161:The pluperfect tense (avevo fatto)·Italian

Questions & Answers about Avevo scattato la foto, ma il soggetto era sfocato.

Why does the sentence use avevo scattato instead of ho scattato?
Avevo scattato is the trapassato prossimo (pluperfect tense), which means "I had taken". You use it to talk about a past action that happened before another past action or state. Here, you had already taken the photo before the state of it being blurry. It is formed using the imperfetto of the helping verb (avevo) plus the past participle (scattato).
Can I use preso (from prendere, to take) to say I "took" a photo?
No, in Italian you do not use prendere to talk about taking pictures. Instead, you use the verb scattare (literally "to shoot" or "to click"). So, "to take a photo" is always scattare una foto.
Why does foto use the feminine article la if it ends in "-o"?
Foto is an abbreviation of fotografia. Because the full word is feminine, the shortened version keeps the feminine gender. Note that in the plural it stays exactly the same, becoming le foto.
Why is era (was) in the imperfetto tense instead of the passato prossimo?
The imperfetto tense is used for ongoing states and descriptions in the past. Saying il soggetto era sfocato describes how the subject looked at that moment in time, rather than a single, completed event.

Learn Avevo scattato la foto, ma il soggetto era sfocato 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 →