Breakdown of La dottoressa leggeva il verbale e affermava che era favorevole.
essere
to be
e
and
la dottoressa
the doctor (female)
leggere
to read
che
that (conjunction introducing a clause)
affermare
to state
favorevole
in favor
il verbale
the minutes
Questions & Answers about La dottoressa leggeva il verbale e affermava che era favorevole.
Why is era used here instead of the present tense?
This is an example of indirect speech set in the past. If the doctor were speaking directly, she would say, I am in favor (sono favorevole). Because her statement is reported in the past (affermava, used to state), her original present-tense verb shifts to the imperfect (era) to match the timeline.
Since there is no pronoun before era, how do we know it means "she was"?
In Italian, subject pronouns are often dropped, even in indirect speech. The context makes it clear that the subject of era is still la dottoressa. If she were stating that someone else was in favor, you would explicitly see a pronoun or noun there (for example, che lui era favorevole).
Why use the imperfect tense for leggeva and affermava instead of the passato prossimo?
The imperfect tense here describes a repeated, habitual action in the past, which is why the English translation uses "used to read" and "used to state". If this were describing one single, completed event (like reading the minutes at one specific meeting yesterday), you would use the passato prossimo: ha letto and ha affermato.
Verbale looks like an adjective meaning "verbal". How does it mean "the minutes"?
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