Breakdown of Sembrava che l'autunno fosse stato molto mite.
essere
to be
molto
very
l'autunno
autumn
che
that (conjunction introducing a clause)
sembrare
to seem
mite
mild
Questions & Answers about Sembrava che l'autunno fosse stato molto mite.
Why is the Pluperfect Subjunctive (fosse stato) used here instead of the Imperfect Subjunctive (fosse)?
Sembrava (It seemed) is a past-tense expression of opinion or appearance, which requires a subjunctive in the dependent clause. We use the Pluperfect Subjunctive (fosse stato or "had been") because the autumn being mild happened before the moment it "seemed" that way. If the two things happened at the same time ("It seemed that autumn was mild"), you would use the Imperfect Subjunctive (fosse).
Why does this sentence use fosse as the auxiliary verb instead of avesse?
To form the Pluperfect Subjunctive, you use the imperfect subjunctive of either avere or essere, plus a past participle. The main verb in the second clause of this sentence is essere (to be). In Italian, essere always uses itself as its auxiliary in compound tenses! Therefore, "had been" becomes fosse (imperfect subjunctive of essere) plus stato (past participle of essere).
If the season were feminine, like l'estate (the summer), would stato change?
Can I use pareva instead of sembrava here?
Yes, parere and sembrare both mean "to seem" or "to appear." They are interchangeable in this context and both reliably trigger the subjunctive when followed by che.
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