Breakdown of Ha superato l'esame senza aver studiato.
avere
to have
studiare
to study
senza
without
l'esame
exam
Questions & Answers about Ha superato l'esame senza aver studiato.
Why use the past infinitive aver studiato instead of the present infinitive studiare?
The past infinitive shows that the action of (not) studying happened before the main action of passing the exam. Using the past infinitive emphasizes that the lack of studying is a completed action leading up to the test.
Why is it spelled aver instead of avere?
Italians often drop the final -e of an infinitive auxiliary verb when it is followed immediately by a past participle. This makes the sentence flow better when spoken. Writing avere studiato is also grammatically correct, but aver studiato is much more common.
Could I say senza che lui abbia studiato to mean the same thing?
You shouldn't in this case. Because the subject of both actions is the exact same person (he passed, he didn't study), Italian prefers this shorter, implicit form using the infinitive (senza aver studiato). You only use senza che plus the subjunctive when there are two different subjects.