Breakdown of La situazione è terribile senza la sua approvazione.
essere
to be
suo
his/her/Your
senza
without
la situazione
the situation
terribile
terrible
l'approvazione
the approval (f)
Questions & Answers about La situazione è terribile senza la sua approvazione.
The current lesson is about "senza che". Why does this sentence just use "senza"?
Senza che is used when you are introducing a new clause with a verb (e.g., "without him giving his approval"), and that is what triggers the subjunctive. In this sentence, senza is simply followed by a noun phrase (la sua approvazione). Since there is no verb being performed, we just use the preposition senza on its own.
If the translation says "his approval", why do we use the feminine word sua?
In Italian, possessive adjectives agree with the gender and number of the thing being possessed, not the owner. Because approvazione is a feminine noun, we must use the feminine possessive sua. Out of context, la sua approvazione could mean "his approval", "her approval", or even formal "your approval".
Why is there a la before sua approvazione?
Unlike English, Italian almost always requires a definite article before a possessive adjective. You literally have to say "the his approval" (la sua approvazione). The main exception to this rule is when you are talking about singular, close family members, like suo fratello (his brother).
Both situazione and approvazione are feminine. Is there a rule that helps identify this?
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