Breakdown of L'avvocato ha spiegato al giudice che il sospettato non aveva toccato la pistola.
non
not
avere
to have
a
to / at
spiegare
to explain
il sospettato
the suspect
toccare
to touch
che
that (conjunction introducing a clause)
l'avvocato
the lawyer (m)
il giudice
the judge
la pistola
the gun
Questions & Answers about L'avvocato ha spiegato al giudice che il sospettato non aveva toccato la pistola.
Why does this sentence use aveva toccato instead of ha toccato?
This is the core rule of indirect speech in the past. Because the main verb ha spiegato is in the past, the reported action must shift one step further back in time. The original direct statement would have used the passato prossimo (ha toccato), so it backshifts to the trapassato prossimo (aveva toccato).
What would the lawyer's original, direct quote look like?
Why is the preposition al used before giudice instead of just a?
The verb spiegare takes the preposition a to indicate who you are explaining something to. Because giudice is a specific noun requiring the definite article il, the two words combine (a + il) to form the articulated preposition al.
Is sospettato a noun or a verb in this sentence?
Here, il sospettato acts as a noun meaning the suspect. It is actually the past participle of the verb sospettare (to suspect). Italian frequently uses past participles as nouns, especially in formal or legal contexts.
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