Breakdown of Fingevamo che l'ombra fosse il drago più pericoloso del bosco.
essere
to be
pericoloso
dangerous
più
more / anymore (with 'non')
del
of the; than the (di + il)
il bosco
woods
che
that (conjunction introducing a clause)
l'ombra
the shadow
il drago
the dragon
fingere
to pretend
Questions & Answers about Fingevamo che l'ombra fosse il drago più pericoloso del bosco.
Why is fosse used here instead of era?
The main verb Fingevamo (we pretended) expresses imagination, which triggers the subjunctive. Because Fingevamo is a past tense, and the shadow being a dragon happens at the same time, the rules of tense sequence require the imperfect subjunctive (fosse).
Why does it say del bosco instead of nel bosco for "in the woods"?
When using a relative superlative like il drago più pericoloso (the most dangerous dragon), Italian uses the preposition di (combined with il to make del) to define the group or place. Think of it as "the most dangerous dragon OF the woods."
Could we use Abbiamo finto instead of Fingevamo?
You could, but it changes the feel. Fingevamo (imperfect) sets a scene, implying an ongoing game ("We were pretending"). Abbiamo finto (passato prossimo) sounds like a single, completed event. Importantly, both past tenses would still require the imperfect subjunctive fosse in the second clause!
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