Breakdown of Era probabile che un acquazzone avesse rovinato il giardino.
essere
to be
un
a / an (masculine)
il giardino
the garden
che
that (conjunction introducing a clause)
Questions & Answers about Era probabile che un acquazzone avesse rovinato il giardino.
Why does this sentence use the subjunctive?
The phrase era probabile che (it was probable that) expresses an opinion, doubt, or probability, which triggers the subjunctive in Italian. Because the main verb (era) is in a past tense, it triggers a past form of the subjunctive.
Why do we use the pluperfect subjunctive (avesse rovinato) here instead of the imperfect subjunctive?
We use the pluperfect subjunctive because the action of the downpour ruining the garden happened before it was considered probable. The main verb (era) is in the past, and the pluperfect subjunctive is used to show an even earlier past action.
How is avesse rovinato formed in this sentence?
The pluperfect subjunctive is made of two parts: the imperfect subjunctive of the helper verb (here, avesse from avere) and the past participle of the main verb (rovinato from rovinare). We use avere as the helper because rovinare takes a direct object (the garden).
I know the word acqua (water). How does it become acquazzone (downpour)?
Acquazzone is formed by adding the suffix -one to acqua. In Italian, -one is an augmentative suffix used to describe something unusually large. A literal translation would be a 'big water,' which in this context means a heavy downpour or sudden rainstorm.