Question 1

Why do we use da here to mean "as a"? Can I use come instead?

Accepted Answer

In Italian, when you want to say you are acting in a specific role or working in a profession, you use da without an article. You could use come (come infermiere), which is also correct and means "in the capacity of a nurse." However, using da is a very common, idiomatic way to express playing a role or working a job.

Question 2

Why isn't there an article before infermiere? Shouldn't it be da un infermiere?

Accepted Answer

When da is used to indicate a role, profession, or stage of life (like da bambino), you drop the article completely. Saying da un infermiere would change the meaning to "at a nurse's place" or "by a nurse" instead of "as a nurse."

Question 3

Why is ancora placed right after the verb instead of at the end of the sentence?

Accepted Answer

In Italian, adverbs of time like ancora (yet/still) and già (already) typically go immediately after the verb they modify. So, non lavorava ancora is the natural word order, unlike English where "yet" often goes at the very end of the sentence.

Question 4

Why is the verb lavorava in the imperfect tense rather than the passato prossimo?

Accepted Answer

We use the imperfect (lavorava) because it describes an ongoing state or situation in the past ("was not working"). It sets the background scene. If we used the passato prossimo (non ha lavorato), it would sound like a completed, isolated event, such as "he didn't work (on that specific day)."

Non lavorava ancora da infermiere.

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