Question 1

Why is furono used here instead of erano or sono stati?

Accepted Answer

Furono is the passato remoto (historic past) of essere for "they were". We use it instead of the passato prossimo (sono stati) because these dukes belong to a closed, distant historical period. While the imperfetto (erano) could also be used to describe what they were like, using furono states their cruelty as a completed, definitive historical fact rather than just a background detail.

Question 2

Why is the masculine plural article i used with duchi? Doesn't the singular end in -a?

Accepted Answer

Yes, the singular is il duca (the duke). It is one of the exceptions in Italian where a masculine noun ends in -a. In the plural, it follows the regular rule for masculine nouns and changes to an -i ending, becoming i duchi. Notice that an h is added to keep the hard "k" sound of the singular.

Question 3

Is crudeli masculine or feminine here?

Accepted Answer

It is masculine plural to match i duchi, but it would look exactly the same if it were feminine. The singular adjective is crudele (cruel). Adjectives ending in -e in the singular always change to -i in the plural for both masculine and feminine nouns.

Question 4

Could I put sicuramente at the end of the sentence?

Accepted Answer

You could technically say i duchi di quella famiglia furono crudeli sicuramente, but placing the adverb directly after the verb (furono sicuramente crudeli) is the most natural word order in Italian. It flows just like the English "were certainly cruel".

I duchi di quella famiglia furono sicuramente crudeli.

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