Learn Italian: Non credevamo che fosse tornato il sereno così presto. - We didn't believe that the clear sky had returned so soon.

Non credevamo che fosse tornato il sereno così presto.

We didn't believe that the clear sky had returned so soon.

Breakdown of Non credevamo che fosse tornato il sereno così presto.

early / soon / quickly, hurry

così

so, like this

Questions & Answers about Non credevamo che fosse tornato il sereno così presto.

Why use the Pluperfect Subjunctive (fosse tornato) here instead of the Imperfect Subjunctive?

The main verb credevamo is in a past tense, which triggers a past subjunctive. Because the clear sky returning happened before their past doubt about it, we must use the Pluperfect Subjunctive to show this 'past before the past' timeline.

Why is the auxiliary verb fosse (from essere) used here instead of avesse?

Tornare (to return) is a verb of movement. In Italian compound tenses, verbs of movement typically take essere as their auxiliary (helping) verb. Therefore, we use the imperfect subjunctive of essere (fosse) paired with the past participle tornato.

Why is the subject il sereno placed after the verb fosse tornato?

Placing the subject after the verb is very common in Italian, especially with weather phenomena or when something appears on the scene. While che il sereno fosse tornato is grammatically correct, putting il sereno after the verb sounds more natural and adds a bit of emphasis to its arrival.

I learned sereno as an adjective meaning 'calm'. How does it mean 'clear sky' here?

You are right that sereno is typically an adjective. However, by adding the definite article il, it turns into a noun (il sereno). In the context of weather, this noun specifically refers to the clear sky or fair weather returning after a storm.