Breakdown of Speravo che il meteorologo avesse previsto il sereno.
sperare
to hope
che
that (conjunction introducing a clause)
prevedere
to foresee
il meteorologo
the meteorologist
Questions & Answers about Speravo che il meteorologo avesse previsto il sereno.
Why do we use the pluperfect subjunctive (avesse previsto) here instead of the imperfect subjunctive?
The main verb Speravo is in the past, which sets our timeframe. Because the meteorologist's prediction happened before you started hoping, we use the pluperfect subjunctive to show that it is even further back in the past. If the predicting and hoping had happened at the exact same time, we would use the imperfect subjunctive (prevedesse).
How exactly is the verb avesse previsto formed in this sentence?
The pluperfect subjunctive is built using the imperfect subjunctive of the helper verb (avere or essere), plus the past participle of the main verb. Here, the helper verb is avere conjugated for the meteorologist (avesse), and it is paired with the irregular past participle of prevedere, which is previsto.
Does the past participle previsto need to agree with il sereno?
No, the past participle previsto does not change its ending here. Because the helper verb is avere, the past participle stays in its default -o form. It would only change to agree with a direct object if we replaced il sereno with a direct object pronoun like lo before the verb.
Is sereno being used as an adjective or a noun here?