Breakdown of Volevo assistere al convegno, ma ho dovuto lavorare.
ma
but
avere
to have
lavorare
to work
volere
to want
Questions & Answers about Volevo assistere al convegno, ma ho dovuto lavorare.
Why do we use the imperfetto for volevo but the passato prossimo for ho dovuto?
This perfectly shows how past tense choices change the meaning of modal verbs! Volevo (imperfetto) sets the background scene: it describes an ongoing desire you had. Ho dovuto (passato prossimo) describes a specific, completed action that interrupted your plan: an obligation came up, and you actually fulfilled it by working. If you had said dovevo lavorare, it would just mean you were supposed to work, leaving it a bit of a mystery whether you actually did!
Doesn't assistere mean "to assist"? Why is it translated as "to attend"?
Assistere is a classic false friend! While it can mean "to assist" (like giving medical care), when it is followed by the preposition a (as in assistere al convegno), it means "to attend" or "to be a spectator at" an event. If you want to say "to help" in Italian, you would normally use aiutare.
Why is it al convegno instead of just il convegno?
Because the verb assistere requires the preposition a when it means "to attend". Since convegno (conference) is a masculine noun that takes the definite article il, you must combine a + il to create the articulated preposition al.
Why does ho dovuto use avere as its helping verb instead of ?