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Non ha ancora visto il motore? Apra pure il cofano.

Non ha ancora visto il motore? Apra pure il cofano.
Haven't you seen the engine yet? Go ahead and open the hood.
From Lesson 283:Polite permission with imperatives (pure)·Italian

Questions & Answers about Non ha ancora visto il motore? Apra pure il cofano.

Why is the word pure used here, and how does it mean "go ahead"?
In this context, pure is used right after an imperative (command) verb like apra to give polite permission or encouragement. While you might know pure as meaning "also" or "even," placing it after a command softens the tone, making it mean "go ahead and," "feel free to," or "by all means."
Who is being addressed in this sentence? Why use ha and apra?
The speaker is addressing someone formally, using the Lei (formal "you") form. We can tell because they use ha instead of the informal hai, and the formal command apra instead of the informal apri. This is exactly how a mechanic or car salesperson would speak to a customer.
Why does the command form of aprire end in an "-a" (apra)?
Because this is the formal Lei imperative. For regular -ire (and -ere) verbs, the formal imperative uses the present subjunctive conjugation, which ends in -a. If the speaker were talking to a friend or family member (the informal tu), the ending would be different: apri pure il cofano.
Doesn't ancora usually mean "still" or "again"? Why is it translated as "yet" here?
When ancora is paired with a negative word like non (creating the phrase non ... ancora), it translates specifically to "not yet." If the sentence didn't have the non, ancora would default back to its positive meanings like "still" or "again."

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