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I vicini spiegano che sono contrari alla nuova quota.

I vicini spiegano che sono contrari alla nuova quota.
The neighbors explain that they are against the new fee.
From Lesson 276:Pronoun shifts in indirect speech·Italian

Questions & Answers about I vicini spiegano che sono contrari alla nuova quota.

If the neighbors were speaking directly, what verb would they use instead of sono?
They would say siamo (we are). In direct speech, their exact words would be: 'We are against the new fee' (Siamo contrari alla nuova quota). Because we are reporting their words (indirect speech), the perspective shifts from 'we' to 'they', so siamo changes to sono.
Why do we use alla after contrari?
In Italian, to say you are 'against' or 'opposed to' something, you use the adjective contrario followed by the preposition a. Because nuova quota is feminine, the preposition a combines with the definite article la to form the combined preposition alla.
Why does nuova come before the noun quota instead of after?
While most descriptive adjectives follow the noun in Italian, a small group of common adjectives dealing with size, age, and subjective qualities (like nuovo, vecchio, bello, buono) usually come before the noun.
I see the word quota. Is this a false friend?
Yes! It might look like the English word 'quote', but it actually translates to a fee, share, or membership due (like a homeowner association fee). To say 'quote' in the sense of repeating someone's words, you would use citazione.

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