Breakdown of Ci hanno raccontato che la loro memoria era ottima.
essere
to be
ottimo
excellent
loro
their
ci
to us
che
that (conjunction introducing a clause)
raccontare
to recount
la memoria
the memory
Questions & Answers about Ci hanno raccontato che la loro memoria era ottima.
Why do we use the imperfetto tense (era) here instead of the passato prossimo (è stata)?
This is an example of indirect speech. Imagine the original direct quote: 'Our memory is excellent' (La nostra memoria è ottima). When we report this in the past (Ci hanno raccontato...), we have to shift the original present tense verb (è) one step back into the past. In Italian, a present tense shifts to the imperfetto (era).
What exactly does ottima mean, and how does it relate to buona?
Ottima is the absolute superlative form of buona (good). It means 'excellent' or 'very good.' While you could say molto buona, using special forms like ottima sounds much more natural and expressive in Italian. It ends in -a here to match the feminine singular noun memoria.
Why do we need the article la before loro in la loro memoria?
In Italian, possessives almost always require a definite article before them. The main exception is with singular family members, but memoria is not a family member, so it needs the article. Furthermore, the possessive loro is a special exception: it always takes the definite article no matter what, even with family members!
Why does ci go before the verb here rather than attaching to the end?
Ci is an indirect object pronoun meaning 'to us' (literally: they recounted to us). With a regular conjugated verb like the passato prossimo (hanno raccontato), object pronouns must go immediately before the conjugated auxiliary verb (hanno). They only attach to the end of infinitives, gerunds, or positive commands.
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