Breakdown of Si governava l'impero con regole severissime.
severo
strict
con
with
la regola
the rule
si
one (impersonal)
l'impero
the empire (m)
governare
to govern
Questions & Answers about Si governava l'impero con regole severissime.
The current lesson is about the passato remoto. Why does this sentence use the imperfetto (governava) instead of the passato remoto (governò)?
The imperfetto is used here because governing an empire with strict rules describes a continuous, ongoing state or habit in the past. If you used the passato remoto (Si governò l'impero...), it would sound like a single, bounded historical event rather than a general background description of how things used to be.
Why is there a si at the beginning of the sentence if no specific person is doing the governing?
This is the passive si (si passivante). It is a very common way in Italian to form the passive voice. Instead of using the verb "to be" as in English, Italians often use si + the active verb. Because the subject receiving the action, l'impero (the empire), is singular, the verb governava is in the 3rd person singular form.
Could I just say L'impero era governato... instead of Si governava l'impero...?
How does the ending of the word severissime work?
It uses the suffix -issimo, which attaches to adjectives to mean "very" or "extremely" (known as the absolute superlative). Because it describes regole (rules), which is a feminine plural noun, the adjective severo (strict) drops its final vowel and adds the feminine plural ending to become severissime.
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