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Anna ha risposto che il legame era ancora forte tra noi.

Anna ha risposto che il legame era ancora forte tra noi.
Anna answered that the bond between us was still strong.
From Lesson 216:Past reported speech (imperfetto)·Italian

Questions & Answers about Anna ha risposto che il legame era ancora forte tra noi.

Why do we use the imperfetto verb era here instead of the present tense è?
This is the core rule of backshifting in indirect speech. If we were there when Anna spoke, her direct words were likely in the present tense: "Il legame è forte" (The bond is strong). Because we are reporting her words later using a past tense reporting verb (ha risposto), the present tense è steps back in the past to become the imperfetto era.
Is legame related to the verb for tying something?
Yes! Il legame means "the bond", "the tie", or "the connection". It comes directly from the verb legare, which means "to tie" or "to bind". It can be used for physical ties or, as in this sentence, emotional relationships.
Could I use fra noi instead of tra noi?
Absolutely. The prepositions tra and fra both mean "between" or "among", and they are completely interchangeable. Italians generally just pick whichever sounds better in the sentence to avoid tongue twisters (like choosing tra fratelli instead of fra fratelli).
Why do we use noi here instead of the pronoun ci for "us"?
Because it comes right after a preposition. When a pronoun follows prepositions like tra (between), per (for), or di (of), you must use the stressed (disjunctive) pronouns. So, instead of the object pronoun ci, you use the full, standalone pronoun noi.

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