Breakdown of Il mio istruttore ci ha messo un'ora per spiegare l'esame pratico.
una
a / an (feminine)
mio
my
per
for / in order to / because of
l'ora
hour
Questions & Answers about Il mio istruttore ci ha messo un'ora per spiegare l'esame pratico.
Why do we use ha messo here instead of è voluta?
We are using the verb metterci because we are talking about a specific person (the instructor) spending time. Metterci takes the auxiliary verb avere (ha), and its past participle messo does not change. If we used volerci, the subject would be the time itself (un'ora), and it would require the auxiliary essere: ci è voluta un'ora (an hour was needed).
What does the ci in ci ha messo do?
Why use per before spiegare? Can I just use the infinitive directly?
You need per because it expresses purpose, meaning "in order to." When you talk about taking time to complete an action, Italian uses per + the infinitive verb. So per spiegare means "in order to explain."
Why does un'ora have an apostrophe but un esame doesn't?