Breakdown of Ha confermato che restituiva la macchina il giorno dopo.
la macchina
car
il giorno
day
restituire
to return (an item), to give back
confermare
to confirm
Questions & Answers about Ha confermato che restituiva la macchina il giorno dopo.
Why do we say il giorno dopo instead of just domani?
Why is restituiva in the imperfect tense here?
When reporting speech after a past tense verb, an original present tense statement shifts to the imperfect. The original direct quote was likely in the present tense: Restituisco la macchina domani (I am returning the car tomorrow). In past indirect speech, restituisco becomes restituiva (he was returning).
Since the return happens after he confirmed it, couldn't we use the past conditional for the 'future in the past'?
Yes! If his original words used the future tense (Restituirò la macchina), this sentence would use the past conditional: Ha confermato che avrebbe restituito la macchina. However, Italians often use the present tense for firm future plans (Restituisco domani). Shifting that present tense into the past gives us the imperfect restituiva.
Could I use tornare instead of restituire to mean 'to return'?