Breakdown of Dopo che ebbero trovato la colonna, scoprirono due civiltà antiche?
avere
to have
due
two
trovare
to find
scoprire
to discover
antico
ancient
dopo che
after (conjunction)
la civiltà
the civilization
la colonna
the column
Questions & Answers about Dopo che ebbero trovato la colonna, scoprirono due civiltà antiche?
Why is ebbero trovato used here instead of the standard past perfect (avevano trovato)?
Ebbero trovato is the trapassato remoto (preterite perfect). You must use it when an action happens before a main action expressed in the passato remoto (here, scoprirono), and is introduced by a time conjunction like dopo che, appena, or quando. If the main verb had been in the passato prossimo, you would have used the standard trapassato prossimo (avevano trovato).
Could I just say "dopo" instead of "dopo che"?
Not when followed by a conjugated verb. Dopo on its own is an adverb or preposition, so it must be followed by a noun or a past infinitive (like dopo aver trovato...). To link it directly to a subject and a conjugated verb (like ebbero trovato), you have to use the conjunction dopo che.
Why doesn't the noun civiltà change its ending for the plural in "due civiltà"?
What verb does scoprirono come from, and is it a regular passato remoto conjugation?
It comes from scoprire (to discover). Like some other -rire verbs (such as aprire or offrire), it actually has two valid sets of endings in the passato remoto for the first person singular, third person singular, and third person plural. You can use the regular endings (scoprii, scoprì, scoprirono) or the irregular forms (scopersi, scoperse, scopersero). Both are perfectly correct!
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