Breakdown of Dubitavo che l'acquazzone fosse iniziato stamattina.
iniziare
to start
stamattina
this morning
che
that (conjunction introducing a clause)
dubitare
to doubt
l'acquazzone
the downpour (m)
Questions & Answers about Dubitavo che l'acquazzone fosse iniziato stamattina.
Why is the pluperfect subjunctive (fosse iniziato) used in this sentence?
Two things trigger it here. First, dubitavo (I doubted) expresses doubt, which requires the subjunctive in the following clause. Second, because the main verb is in the past, and the downpour started before that doubt, we need the pluperfect subjunctive (trapassato congiuntivo) to show an action that was already completed further in the past.
Why do we use a form of essere (fosse) as the auxiliary verb for iniziare here? Doesn't it sometimes use avere?
Since acqua is feminine, why does the past participle iniziato end in -o instead of -a?
Because the subject here is l'acquazzone (the downpour), which is a masculine noun. Even though it is derived from the feminine word acqua (water), the suffix -one creates a new word and changes the gender to masculine. Since the auxiliary is essere, the past participle must agree with this masculine singular subject.
Is stamattina a compound word?
Yes, stamattina is a very common fusion of questa mattina (this morning). You can use either phrase, but stamattina is extremely natural and frequently used in everyday Italian.
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