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È la notizia più sconvolgente e incredibile che la televisione abbia mai dato.

È la notizia più sconvolgente e incredibile che la televisione abbia mai dato.
It is the most shocking and incredible news that television has ever given.
From Lesson 227:Subjunctive with relative superlatives·Italian

Questions & Answers about È la notizia più sconvolgente e incredibile che la televisione abbia mai dato.

Why is abbia dato in the subjunctive here?
The subjunctive is triggered by the relative superlative la notizia più sconvolgente (the most shocking news). When a relative clause (starting with che) modifies a superlative (like the most or the best) or an absolute limit (like the first or the only), Italian uses the subjunctive. This shows that the extreme statement is an opinion or limited to personal experience rather than an absolute fact.
Why use the past subjunctive (abbia dato) instead of the present subjunctive (dia)?
The main clause is in the present tense (È la notizia...), but the action of the television giving the news happened before now. To express this prior action, we use the past subjunctive. It is formed exactly like the passato prossimo, but using the present subjunctive of the auxiliary verb (abbia instead of ha).
Notice where mai is placed. Is it always stuck in the middle of the verb?
Yes! Just like in the regular indicative mood, adverbs of time like mai (ever or never), sempre (always), and già (already) are placed directly between the auxiliary verb (abbia) and the past participle (dato).
Why does the Italian sentence use the definite article la before televisione?
In Italian, you must use definite articles (il, la, etc.) before nouns referring to a broad, general category, like television, society, or history. English usually leaves the article out in these general contexts.
Sconvolgente ends in -ente. Does this mean it is related to a verb?
Yes! Words ending in -ante or -ente are present participles of verbs, which are frequently used as adjectives in Italian. Sconvolgente comes from the verb sconvolgere (to disturb or shatter) and means shocking or disturbing. Because it ends in -e, its ending does not change for masculine or feminine nouns, only for the plural.

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