Breakdown of Sarebbe meglio se nessuno ti facesse un altro prestito.
essere
to be
un
a / an (masculine)
fare
to do / to make
meglio
better
Questions & Answers about Sarebbe meglio se nessuno ti facesse un altro prestito.
Why is the stem for the imperfect subjunctive of fare spelled fac- here?
Fare is one of a few irregular verbs that use their original Latin stem for the imperfect subjunctive (from the old verb facere). You take this older stem (fac-) and add the regular endings. Since the subject is nessuno, which is third-person singular, it takes the -esse ending, creating facesse.
Why do we use the imperfect subjunctive (facesse) instead of the present subjunctive?
This sentence describes a hypothetical or imagined situation. In Italian, to say what 'would' happen 'if' something else happened, you use the conditional tense in the main clause (sarebbe) and the imperfect subjunctive in the 'if' clause (se nessuno ti facesse).
Why is the verb facesse in the third-person singular (the he/she form)?