Learn Italian: Ci hanno assicurato che avrebbero pagato il conto. - They assured us that they would pay the bill.

Ci hanno assicurato che avrebbero pagato il conto.

They assured us that they would pay the bill.

Breakdown of Ci hanno assicurato che avrebbero pagato il conto.

Questions & Answers about Ci hanno assicurato che avrebbero pagato il conto.

Why do we use the past conditional (avrebbero pagato) instead of the present conditional for "would pay"?

In Italian, when you report a future action from the perspective of the past (they promised back then that they would pay later), you must use the past conditional. This rule is called the "future in the past". English uses "would + verb" here, which looks like the present conditional, making this a tricky difference to remember!

If the past conditional normally means "would have paid", why does it translate to just "would pay" here?

You are right that in most other situations, avrebbero pagato means "they would have paid". However, when it is used in a reported clause after a past tense verb like hanno assicurato, its meaning shifts. In this specific grammatical structure, Italian uses the "would have" form to express "would".

Does ci mean "us" or "to us" in this sentence?

It means "to us". It acts as an indirect object pronoun because the verb structure is assicurare qualcosa a qualcuno (to assure something to someone). They assured the fact that they would pay to us.

What tense would we use if the first part of the sentence was in the present tense?

If the main verb is in the present, like ci assicurano (they assure us), you use the standard future tense for the second action: che pagheranno il conto (that they will pay the bill). The past conditional is only triggered because the first verb is in the past!