Breakdown of Se fossi tollerante, non avresti questo rimorso.
essere
to be
questo
this (masculine)
non
not
avere
to have
se
if
tollerante
tolerant
il rimorso
the remorse / the regret (feeling of guilt)
Questions & Answers about Se fossi tollerante, non avresti questo rimorso.
Why does this sentence use fossi instead of sei or eri?
This sentence uses the second conditional to describe a hypothetical situation in the present ('If you were...'). In Italian, the 'if' clause of a hypothetical situation requires the imperfect subjunctive, which is fossi here. This pairs with the conditional tense (avresti) in the main clause.
Fossi can mean 'if I were' or 'if you were'. How do we know which one it is here?
You have to look at the other verb in the sentence for context. Because the main clause uses avresti (the 'tu' form of the conditional, meaning 'you would have'), it makes the most logical sense that fossi also refers to 'tu' ('If you were tolerant'). If it meant 'If I were', you would usually include the pronoun io (Se io fossi...) to avoid confusion.
What is the difference between rimorso and rimpianto?
Does tollerante change if we are talking to a woman instead of a man?
No, it stays exactly the same. Adjectives that end in -e in the singular are used for both masculine and feminine nouns. It would only change to tolleranti if you were addressing multiple people (plural).
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