Breakdown of Avrei voluto lavorare con quell'investitore. Malgrado ciò, lui ha rifiutato.
lui
he
quello
that
avere
to have
lavorare
to work
con
with
volere
to want
ciò
that / this (abstract concepts)
rifiutare
to refuse
malgrado
despite (in spite of)
l'investitore
the investor (m)
Questions & Answers about Avrei voluto lavorare con quell'investitore. Malgrado ciò, lui ha rifiutato.
Why doesn't malgrado trigger the subjunctive in this sentence?
The word malgrado usually requires the subjunctive when it acts as a conjunction introducing a dependent clause (like malgrado lui abbia rifiutato). However, in this sentence, malgrado acts as a preposition followed by the pronoun ciò. Together, malgrado ciò acts as a fixed connector meaning "despite this." Because it simply links two independent sentences rather than introducing a dependent clause, the verb that follows stays in the indicative mood.
Why use the conditional past avrei voluto instead of the imperfect volevo?
Avrei voluto is the past conditional, which is the standard way to express an unfulfilled desire in the past (I would have liked / I would have wanted). While in casual spoken Italian you might hear the imperfect volevo used to express a past wish, the past conditional is grammatically precise and clearly signals that this was a missed opportunity or a desire that never came true.
Is the subject pronoun lui strictly necessary here?
While subject pronouns are usually dropped in Italian, lui is used here deliberately for contrast. The first sentence is about what you wanted (avrei voluto), while the second sentence contrasts it with the investor's action. Adding lui strongly emphasizes this opposition between your wishes and his refusal.
Could I say lui si è rifiutato instead of lui ha rifiutato?
You could, but it would change the grammar of the sentence. Ha rifiutato means he rejected the implicit offer or proposal. If you use the pronominal verb rifiutarsi, it usually needs to be followed by the preposition di and an infinitive verb to explain what the person refused to do. You would have to expand the sentence to say something like lui si è rifiutato di farlo (he refused to do it).
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