Breakdown of Lo spettatore non se la sarebbe presa se il protagonista non fosse morto.
essere
to be
non
not
se
if
morire
to die
prendersela
to take offense
il protagonista
the protagonist
lo spettatore
the viewer
Questions & Answers about Lo spettatore non se la sarebbe presa se il protagonista non fosse morto.
Does the order of the clauses change how the third conditional works here?
No. Even though the main clause (non se la sarebbe presa) comes first, the rule remains exactly the same. The result clause takes the past conditional, and the condition introduced by se (se il protagonista non fosse morto) takes the pluperfect subjunctive.
Where does se la come from in se la sarebbe presa?
It comes from the pronominal verb prendersela (to take offense / to get mad). It is formed by the verb prendere + the reflexive pronoun si + the direct object pronoun la. When they are placed before the conjugated verb, si changes to se, giving us se la.
If lo spettatore is masculine, why does the past participle end in the feminine -a (presa)?
With pronominal verbs that contain a direct object pronoun (like the la in prendersela), the past participle must agree with that pronoun. Since the pronoun is the feminine la, the participle must be presa, completely ignoring the masculine subject.
Why do both verbs in this sentence use forms of essere as their auxiliary?
For two different reasons. Prendersela uses essere (sarebbe) because all reflexive and pronominal verbs take essere in compound tenses. Morire uses essere (fosse) because it is an intransitive verb describing a change of state.
Learn Lo spettatore non se la sarebbe presa se il protagonista non fosse morto 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