Questions & Answers about I nemici ferirono il cavallo.
Why use ferirono here instead of hanno ferito or ferivano?
ferirono is the passato remoto (historical past) tense of ferire (to wound). You will see this tense used primarily in literature, storytelling, and historical accounts to describe completed actions in the distant past. If you were talking about an event that happened recently or in everyday conversation, you would use the passato prossimo (hanno ferito).
What is the pattern for forming the loro (they) form of regular -ire verbs in the passato remoto?
For regular -ire verbs, you drop the -ire infinitive ending and add -irono. So, ferire becomes ferirono. It is very similar to regular -ere verbs, which drop their ending and add -erono (for example, vendere becomes venderono).
The singular is nemico (hard 'c' sound). Why does the plural nemici have a soft 'ch' sound instead of adding an 'h' to keep it hard?
Masculine nouns ending in -co can be tricky. Usually, if the stress is on the second-to-last syllable, they add an h in the plural to keep the hard sound (like banco changing to banchi). However, nemico (enemy) and amico (friend) are common exceptions. Even though the stress is on the second-to-last syllable (ne-MI-co), they take a soft -ci ending in the plural: nemici.
Does ferire only mean to physically wound someone, like an animal in battle?
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