Question 1

Why is da used here to mean 'as a'?

Accepted Answer

In Italian, the preposition da is used before a profession, role, or stage of life to mean 'in the capacity of' or 'as a'. You will also see this in common phrases like da bambino (as a child) or da giovane (as a young person).

Question 2

Shouldn't it be da un poliziotto since the English translation says 'As a policeman'?

Accepted Answer

No, when da is used to indicate a role or profession, you drop the article completely. Adding the article (da un poliziotto) would change the meaning to 'by a policeman' or 'from a policeman'.

Question 3

Is the pronoun lui necessary here?

Accepted Answer

It is not strictly necessary, since ha visto already tells us the subject is he, she, or it. However, keeping lui adds a little emphasis. It highlights that he specifically saw these things, perhaps in contrast to an ordinary civilian.

Question 4

Why does molte come before cose but brutte comes after?

Accepted Answer

Quantifiers—words that tell you how much or how many, like molte (many) or poche (few)—always go before the noun. Descriptive adjectives, like brutte (bad or ugly), usually go after the noun they describe.

Question 5

Why use the passato prossimo (ha visto) instead of the imperfect (vedeva)?

Accepted Answer

Using ha visto treats all those bad things as a single, completed sum of experiences in his career. If you used the imperfect (vedeva), it would mean 'he used to see' or 'he was seeing', which emphasizes the ongoing, repetitive background nature of the action rather than the total experience.

Da poliziotto, lui ha visto molte cose brutte.

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