Breakdown of Eravamo consapevoli dell'occasione e ne approfittavamo.
essere
to be
e
and
di
of, from
l'occasione
the opportunity (f)
consapevole
aware
approfittarne
to take advantage of it
Questions & Answers about Eravamo consapevoli dell'occasione e ne approfittavamo.
How does ne work with the verb approfittavamo in this sentence?
The base verb is approfittare, which requires the preposition di to state what you are taking advantage of (approfittare di qualcosa). The pronoun ne is used to replace phrases starting with di. Here, ne stands in for dell'occasione so the speaker doesn't have to repeat it, giving us "we took advantage of it."
I've also seen the pronominal verb approfittarsene. What is the difference between ne approfittavamo and ce ne approfittavamo?
Approfittarne (from approfittare di) is generally positive or neutral, meaning to make good use of a situation or opportunity. Approfittarsene (from the reflexive approfittarsi di) has a negative, malicious tone, meaning to unfairly exploit a person or a weakness. Since this sentence is about seizing a good opportunity, the non-reflexive approfittarne is the right choice.
Is the preposition di in dell'occasione required because of the word consapevoli?
Yes. Just like in English you are "aware of" something, in Italian you are consapevole di something. When combined with the definite article l' (for occasione), it forms the articulated preposition dell'.
Why does the sentence use the imperfect tense (approfittavamo) instead of the passato prossimo (abbiamo approfittato)?
Using the imperfect tense here shows this was an ongoing habit or a continuous situation in the past ("we were taking advantage of it" or "we used to take advantage of it"). If the speaker meant they took advantage of a single, specific opportunity just once and the action was completed, they would use the passato prossimo: ne abbiamo approfittato.
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