Word
Dubitavo che l'informatore avesse sorvegliato il palazzo.
Meaning
I doubted that the informant had watched the building.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Dubitavo che l'informatore avesse sorvegliato il palazzo.
il palazzo
the building
avere
to have
che
that (conjunction introducing a clause)
dubitare
to doubt
Questions & Answers about Dubitavo che l'informatore avesse sorvegliato il palazzo.
Why use the pluperfect subjunctive (avesse sorvegliato) instead of the imperfect subjunctive (sorvegliasse)?
The main verb (dubitavo) is in the past. Because the informant's watching happened before the doubting, we need to show this backward jump in time. When the main clause is in the past and requires the subjunctive, we use the pluperfect subjunctive to express an action that had already happened.
Why do we need the subjunctive mood here in the first place?
The main verb is dubitare (to doubt). Verbs expressing doubt, uncertainty, emotion, or personal opinion trigger the subjunctive mood in the dependent clause introduced by che.
Why does sorvegliare take avere (avesse) as its auxiliary rather than essere (fosse)?
Sorvegliare (to watch, to surveil) is a transitive verb, meaning it acts upon a direct object. Here, the object is il palazzo. In Italian, transitive verbs always take avere as their auxiliary in compound tenses.