Breakdown of Hanno potuto vendicarsi senza alcun rimorso.
avere
to have
senza
without
potere
can, to be able to
vendicarsi
to take revenge
alcuno
any (in negative contexts)
il rimorso
the remorse / the regret (feeling of guilt)
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?
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.
Learn Hanno potuto vendicarsi senza alcun rimorso and more in Italian
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free