Question 1

Could I use in cui instead of dove in this sentence?

Accepted Answer

Yes! In Italian, when you are referring to a physical place like il nascondiglio (the hiding place), you can use either the relative adverb dove (where) or the relative pronoun in cui (in which). Dove is very common and natural in everyday spoken Italian, while in cui means the exact same thing but can sound slightly more formal or precise.

Question 2

Why does this sentence use teneva instead of the passato prossimo (ha tenuto)?

Accepted Answer

The verb is in the imperfetto tense because keeping the money in the ruins was an ongoing, habitual situation in the past. It translates well to "used to keep" or "kept (over a period of time)". If the thief had stored the money there just once as a single completed event, you would use the passato prossimo (ha tenuto).

Question 3

I learned that tenere means "to hold". Does it also mean "to keep"?

Accepted Answer

Exactly. While tenere often means "to hold" physically (like holding a bag), it is also the standard verb for "to keep" in the sense of storing something or keeping possession of it, just like the thief keeping i soldi (the money) in this sentence.

Question 4

Why is antiche spelled with an 'h'?

Accepted Answer

The singular feminine form of the adjective is antica (ancient). To make it plural so it agrees with rovine (ruins), it changes to antiche. The 'h' is inserted to maintain the hard "k" sound of the 'c'. Without the 'h', the spelling "antice" would be pronounced with a soft "ch" sound (like in the English word "cheese").

Le antiche rovine sono il nascondiglio dove il ladro teneva i soldi.

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