Breakdown of Dobbiamo agire senza che il direttore lo impedisca.
il direttore
manager / director
dovere
must
lo
him/it (direct object)
senza che
without (+ clause)
agire
to act
impedire
to prevent
Questions & Answers about Dobbiamo agire senza che il direttore lo impedisca.
Why is impedisca in the subjunctive form here?
The conjunction senza che (without) always triggers the subjunctive mood. It introduces an action that isn't happening or is being avoided, which makes it hypothetical rather than a stated fact. Therefore, we use the subjunctive impedisca instead of the indicative impedisce.
Could I leave out the word che and just say senza il direttore...?
No, you need che to connect the two clauses. In Italian, when "without" introduces a new subject performing an action (here, the director), you must use senza che followed by a conjugated subjunctive verb. If the subject of both actions were the exact same (for example, "We must act without preventing it"), you would just use senza plus the infinitive: senza impedirlo.
Why is the pronoun lo placed before impedisca?
Because impedisca is a conjugated verb. Even though it's in a dependent clause and in the subjunctive mood, the rule for object pronouns like lo (it) remains the same: they go immediately before the conjugated verb. You generally only attach pronouns to the end of infinitives, gerunds, or commands.
Impedire is an -ire verb. Why does its subjunctive form end in -isca?
Impedire (to prevent) belongs to the group of -ire verbs that add -isc- to their stem in the present tense, just like capire (capisco). This -isc- pattern carries over to the present subjunctive for the singular forms (I, you, he/she/it) and the "they" form, giving us impedisca.
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