Hanno potuto vendicarsi senza alcun rimorso.

Questions & Answers about Hanno potuto vendicarsi senza alcun rimorso.

Why does this sentence use hanno (avere) instead of sono (essere), since vendicarsi is a reflexive verb?
Because the reflexive pronoun -si is attached to the end of the infinitive (vendicarsi), the modal verb (potere) simply uses its own default auxiliary, which is avere. This is the standard rule when the pronoun stays attached to the infinitive.
What would the sentence look like if I put the reflexive pronoun si at the beginning?
If you move the pronoun before the conjugated verb, the auxiliary must switch to essere, and the past participle must agree with the subject. Assuming the subject is masculine plural, it becomes: Si sono potuti vendicare senza alcun rimorso.
Why do we use alcun here instead of nessun for "any"?
After the preposition senza (without), you can use either alcun or nessun. They mean exactly the same thing in this context, so senza nessun rimorso would also be perfectly correct.
Why is it alcun rimorso and not alcuno rimorso?
The words alcuno and nessuno drop their final -o before masculine singular nouns that start with a vowel or most consonants, exactly like the indefinite article un. Since rimorso starts with an 'r', alcuno shortens to alcun.

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