Breakdown of In questo torneo non possiamo pareggiare, bisogna sconfiggere tutti.
questo
this (masculine)
non
not
in
in / made of (material)
tutto
everything
potere
can, to be able to
bisognare
to be necessary
il torneo
the tournament
pareggiare
to draw (a game, tie)
sconfiggere
to defeat
bisogna
one must, it is necessary (frozen impersonal of bisognare)
Questions & Answers about In questo torneo non possiamo pareggiare, bisogna sconfiggere tutti.
Why use bisogna here instead of just saying dobbiamo (we must)?
Bisogna is an impersonal verb that means "it is necessary" or "one must." While dobbiamo sconfiggere means specifically "we must defeat," using bisogna makes it a general, absolute rule of the tournament: to win, defeating everyone is required. It is always followed by an infinitive and never changes its form.
Is sconfiggere an irregular verb?
Yes, it is. While you see it in its infinitive form here, it's a good time for a B1 refresher: its past participle in the passato prossimo is sconfitto (defeated). It follows the same irregular pattern as leggere (letto) or scrivere (scritto).
Where does the verb pareggiare come from?
It comes from the word pari, which means "equal" or "even." In a sports context like this tournament, pareggiare means to tie or draw a game, because both teams end up with an equal score.
Why doesn't tutti have an article after it, like tutti i?
When tutti is used as an adjective modifying a noun, it needs an article (like tutti i giocatori for "all the players"). Here, it acts as a pronoun standing completely on its own, meaning "everyone." When used this way as a direct object, no article is needed.
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