Breakdown of Quale lavoro sarebbe gratificante, se ti fossi specializzato all'estero?
essere
to be
il lavoro
the work / the job
a
to / at
l'estero
abroad (m)
se
if
quale
which (singular / plural: quali)
gratificante
rewarding
specializzarsi
to specialize
Questions & Answers about Quale lavoro sarebbe gratificante, se ti fossi specializzato all'estero?
How does the mixed conditional work in this specific sentence?
This sentence mixes a past condition with a present result. The past condition is se ti fossi specializzato (if you had specialized in the past), which uses the pluperfect subjunctive. The result is sarebbe gratificante (which job would be rewarding right now), which uses the present conditional.
Why does the se clause use fossi instead of avessi?
The verb is specializzarsi (to specialize oneself), which is reflexive. In Italian, all reflexive verbs take essere as their auxiliary in compound tenses. Here, we need the pluperfect subjunctive, so we use the imperfect subjunctive of essere, which is fossi.
If I were asking this question to a woman, would any words change?
Why do we say all'estero for abroad instead of just using in or a plus estero?
In Italian, going or being abroad is always expressed with the fixed prepositional phrase all'estero. It combines the preposition a with the definite article l' before the noun estero.
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