Breakdown of Il medico non voleva che io camminassi finché avevo il gesso.
io
I
non
not
il medico
the doctor
avere
to have
camminare
to walk
volere
to want
che
that (conjunction introducing a clause)
finché
as long as (time)
il gesso
the cast
Questions & Answers about Il medico non voleva che io camminassi finché avevo il gesso.
Why do we use finché here instead of finché non?
By itself, finché means "as long as" or "while." It is used when two situations happen at the same time and run parallel to each other. Here, the period of having the cast is exactly the same as the period the doctor didn't want you to walk. You would use finché non (until) if you were waiting for an action to stop or change.
Why is camminassi in the imperfect subjunctive?
The verb volere (to want) expresses a desire, which requires the subjunctive mood for the second verb when the subject changes (the doctor wanted -> I walk). Because the main verb voleva is in a past tense, the second verb must also be in the past to match it. Therefore, we use the imperfect subjunctive form, camminassi.
Wait, if we are using the subjunctive, why is avevo in the normal indicative mood?
The subjunctive was triggered by voleva che, which only affects the verb immediately following it (camminassi). The conjunction finché introduces a new clause. Both finché and finché non generally take the regular indicative mood when describing a factual state or event in the past or present, so we use the regular imperfect avevo.
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