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Mio bisnonno era ricco, tuttavia non abbiamo ereditato niente.

Mio bisnonno era ricco, tuttavia non abbiamo ereditato niente.
My great-grandfather was rich, however we have inherited nothing.
From Lesson 281:Contrastive connectors (tuttavia, eppure)·Italian

Questions & Answers about Mio bisnonno era ricco, tuttavia non abbiamo ereditato niente.

Why use tuttavia here instead of a simpler word like ma (but)?
Tuttavia translates to "however" or "nevertheless". It is slightly more formal and emphatic than ma (but) or però (however/but). In written Italian or careful speech, it is perfect for highlighting a logical contrast between two clauses.
Could we use the other connector from this lesson, eppure (and yet), in this sentence?
Yes, you could absolutely say eppure non abbiamo ereditato niente. While tuttavia (however) simply states a factual contrast, eppure (and yet) would add a stronger sense of surprise, irony, or disappointment to the fact that you inherited nothing despite his immense wealth.
Why is it mio bisnonno and not il mio bisnonno?
This is a great time to remember the family rule! In Italian, you drop the definite article (like il or la) when using a possessive adjective with a singular, unmodified family member. Since bisnonno (great-grandfather) is a direct family term in the singular, it takes no article.
Why does the sentence use the imperfetto (era) for the first verb, but the passato prossimo (abbiamo ereditato) for the second?
Era (was) uses the imperfetto because it describes an ongoing state or condition in the past—his wealth was a continuous characteristic. Abbiamo ereditato (we inherited) uses the passato prossimo because receiving an inheritance (or not receiving one) is treated as a single, completed event.
Why do we need both non and niente? Doesn't that mean "we didn't inherit nothing"?
In Italian, double negatives are grammatically required when a negative word like niente (nothing) comes after the verb. You must put non before the verb to support it, making non abbiamo ereditato niente the perfectly normal and correct way to say "we inherited nothing" or "we didn't inherit anything".

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