Learn Italian: All'assemblea, rispondete che siete contrari e non approvate niente. - At the assembly, you respond that you are against it and do not approve anything.

All'assemblea, rispondete che siete contrari e non approvate niente.

At the assembly, you respond that you are against it and do not approve anything.

Breakdown of All'assemblea, rispondete che siete contrari e non approvate niente.

to the / at the (feminine singular)

Questions & Answers about All'assemblea, rispondete che siete contrari e non approvate niente.

How does indirect speech change the perspective in this sentence?

If the group were speaking directly, they would say "We are against it" (Siamo contrari). But because the speaker is describing or instructing their response from the outside, the perspective shifts to "you" (plural). That is why the verbs shift to the voi form: rispondete, siete, and approvate.

Do I always need to use che when reporting speech?

Yes. Che (that) connects the reporting verb (rispondete) to the indirect statement. While in English you can often drop the word "that" and simply say "you respond you are against it", Italian strictly requires che.

Why is contrari plural here?

Adjectives in Italian must agree with the subject they describe. Since the implicit subject is the plural "you all" (voi), the adjective contrario changes to the masculine plural form, contrari. If the group were exclusively female, it would be contrarie.

Why does the sentence use both non and niente?

Italian requires a double negative structure to express "not... anything". You must place non before the verb and niente (nothing/anything) after it, which gives us non approvate niente.