Breakdown of Se vincessi, aiuterei ogni parente e pagherei tutti i loro debiti.
e
and
loro
their
il parente
the relative
tutto
all the / whole
Questions & Answers about Se vincessi, aiuterei ogni parente e pagherei tutti i loro debiti.
Why does this sentence use vincessi instead of a normal past tense?
This sentence uses the second conditional to talk about an unlikely or hypothetical situation. In Italian, the 'if' part of a hypothetical statement (the se clause) requires the imperfect subjunctive, which is vincessi here. The result parts then use the present conditional (aiuterei, pagherei).
Why is there an 'h' in pagherei?
The verb is pagare. To form the conditional (and future) tense, the 'a' of the infinitive ending changes to an 'e'. However, to keep the hard 'g' sound of pagare, we must add an 'h' before the 'e'. Without the 'h', it would be pronounced with a soft 'g' sound, like in the word 'gelato'.
Does parente mean 'parent'?
No, parente is a false friend! It actually means 'relative' (such as an aunt, cousin, or uncle). If you want to say 'parents' (mother and father), you need to use the word genitori.
Why is parente singular if the person would help multiple relatives?
Why is there an i before ?