Breakdown of Se avessi studiato giurisprudenza, sarei un avvocato più ambizioso.
essere
to be
un
a / an (masculine)
avere
to have
studiare
to study
se
if
più
more / anymore (with 'non')
l'avvocato
the lawyer (m)
la giurisprudenza
the law
ambizioso
ambitious
Questions & Answers about Se avessi studiato giurisprudenza, sarei un avvocato più ambizioso.
Why do we use the past tense avessi studiato but the present tense sarei in the same sentence?
This is a mixed conditional, which you use when a past event affects a present situation. The condition happened in the past, so the 'if' clause takes the pluperfect subjunctive (avessi studiato). The result is happening now, so it takes the present conditional (sarei). If both the condition and the result were in the past, you would instead use the past conditional for the result (sarei stato).
Why does the sentence use giurisprudenza for 'law' instead of legge?
When talking about 'law' as an academic discipline, a university degree, or a faculty, Italian uses giurisprudenza. The word legge refers to the actual rules, legislation, or the legal system itself (for example, breaking a law or the government passing a new law).
I thought Italian drops words like un when talking about professions. Why is it included here before avvocato?
You are right that Italian usually drops the indefinite article when simply stating a profession (for example, sarei avvocato meaning 'I would be a lawyer'). However, there is a key exception: when the profession is modified by an adjective or a descriptive phrase—in this case, più ambizioso—you must put the article back in. Therefore, it becomes un avvocato più ambizioso.
How would this sentence change if I wanted to say 'the most ambitious lawyer' rather than 'a more ambitious lawyer'?
To form the relative superlative ('the most...'), you simply change the indefinite article un to the definite article l'. The phrase would become sarei l'avvocato più ambizioso.
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