Learn Italian: Speravo che avrebbero ridotto le tasse della metà. - I was hoping they would reduce the taxes by half.

Speravo che avrebbero ridotto le tasse della metà.

I was hoping they would reduce the taxes by half.

Breakdown of Speravo che avrebbero ridotto le tasse della metà.

Questions & Answers about Speravo che avrebbero ridotto le tasse della metà.

Why is it della metà and not just metà to say 'by half'?

When talking about increasing or decreasing by a certain amount or fraction, Italian uses the preposition di. Because we are referring to the specific noun la metà (the half), the preposition di combines with the article la to become della.

Why is the past conditional (avrebbero ridotto) used here to mean 'they would reduce'?

This sentence uses a rule called 'future in the past'. Since the main verb (speravo) is in the past, an action that was going to happen after that moment ('they would reduce them') must take the past conditional. Using the present conditional (ridurrebbero) would be incorrect here.

Doesn't the verb sperare (to hope) usually require the subjunctive mood?

Yes, verbs of hoping, wishing, and feeling usually trigger the subjunctive! However, because the action of reducing the taxes is in the future relative to the past hoping, the 'future in the past' rule applies instead, and the past conditional overrides the subjunctive.

What is the difference between metà and mezzo?