Breakdown of Per quanto lui cerchi il virus, non trova niente.
lui
he
non
not
cercare
to look for
trovare
to find
niente
nothing
per quanto
no matter how much / although (degree)
il virus
the virus
Questions & Answers about Per quanto lui cerchi il virus, non trova niente.
Why is cerchi in the subjunctive rather than the indicative?
The phrase per quanto (meaning no matter how much or even though) is a concessive conjunction. In Italian, these types of conjunctions introduce a condition that does not prevent the main action from happening, and they require the verb to be in the subjunctive mood.
Why do we explicitly include the subject pronoun lui in per quanto lui cerchi?
In the present subjunctive, the conjugations for io, tu, and lui/lei are identical (they all end in -i for regular -are verbs). Using lui clears up the ambiguity so we know exactly who is looking for the virus.
Why does cerchi have an h in it if the infinitive is cercare?
Since the first half uses the subjunctive, why is trova in the indicative?
The subjunctive is only triggered inside the dependent clause introduced by per quanto. The second half of the sentence, non trova niente, is the main clause stating a factual outcome, so it stays in the normal indicative mood.
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