Word
Aggiungo qualche dettaglio senza che lui se ne accorga.
Meaning
I add some details without him noticing.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Aggiungo qualche dettaglio senza che lui se ne accorga.
lui
he
qualche
some / a few
aggiungere
to add
ne
of it / of them / some (pronoun)
Questions & Answers about Aggiungo qualche dettaglio senza che lui se ne accorga.
Why is accorga in the subjunctive here?
The phrase senza che (without) is a negative conjunction that always triggers the subjunctive. It introduces an event (him noticing) that hasn't happened or is being prevented, so it lives in the realm of subjectivity rather than fact.
What do the little words se and ne do in se ne accorga?
The translation says "some details" (plural), so why is it qualche dettaglio (singular) in Italian?
Why can't we just use the infinitive and say senza accorgersene?
You can only use senza plus the infinitive when the subject of both actions is the same person. Because "I" am doing the adding and "he" is the one not noticing, you have to split the sentence with senza che and use the subjunctive for the second person.