Breakdown of Il testimone sente due colpi nella notte.
la notte
the night
due
two
sentire
to hear
nella
in the (in + la)
Questions & Answers about Il testimone sente due colpi nella notte.
How would this sentence look in indirect speech if we are reporting that the witness had heard the shots?
Since this lesson covers shifting from the past (passato prossimo) to the remote past (trapassato prossimo), let's imagine the original event was already in the past: Il testimone ha sentito due colpi. To report this later, you shift the tense one step further back: Hanno detto che il testimone aveva sentito due colpi (They said the witness had heard two shots).
If the witness is a woman, does testimone become testimona?
No, testimone is an invariable noun, meaning the word itself doesn't change its ending to match gender. To show that the witness is female, you simply change the article: la testimone.
I usually translate colpo as a 'blow' or 'hit'. Can it also mean 'shot'?