Breakdown of Due giorni fa hanno giurato che avrebbero restituito i soldi.
i soldi
the money
avere
to have
due
two
il giorno
the day
restituire
to return (an item), to give back
che
that (conjunction introducing a clause)
fa
ago
giurare
to swear
Questions & Answers about Due giorni fa hanno giurato che avrebbero restituito i soldi.
Why does the sentence use avrebbero restituito (which literally means would have returned) instead of the present conditional for would return?
In Italian, when you talk about a future action from the perspective of the past (like what they swore two days ago that they would do later), you must use the past conditional. English uses the present conditional (would return), but Italian strictly uses the past conditional (avrebbero restituito) to show this future in the past.
If they haven't returned the money yet, shouldn't we use the future tense restituiranno?
No, because the main verb hanno giurato is in the past. When reporting speech or thoughts from the past, any future action relative to that moment must be expressed with the past conditional. You would only use the future tense restituiranno if the main verb was in the present, like giurano che restituiranno i soldi (they swear that they will return the money).
Why is the main verb hanno giurato in the passato prossimo and not the imperfetto?
The phrase due giorni fa (two days ago) pinpoints a specific, completed event in the past. The passato prossimo is used for these completed, one-time actions, whereas the imperfetto would imply an ongoing or repeated habit.
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