Breakdown of Non credevo che questo ristorante ipertecnologico fosse già strapieno di clienti straricchi!
essere
to be
questo
this (masculine)
non
not
il ristorante
the restaurant
di
of, from
già
already
credere
to believe
il cliente
the customer
che
that (conjunction introducing a clause)
ipertecnologico
ultra-technological
strapieno
completely full
straricco
filthy rich
Questions & Answers about Non credevo che questo ristorante ipertecnologico fosse già strapieno di clienti straricchi!
The sentence uses ipertecnologico, strapieno, and straricchi. How do we choose between prefixes like iper- and stra-?
Both are prefixes of absolute intensity, but they tend to pair with different types of words. stra- is very common in everyday Italian to mean extremely or excessively, as seen in strapieno (packed) or straricchi (filthy rich). iper- usually attaches to scientific, technical, or modern concepts, making ipertecnologico sound highly advanced or futuristic.
Do adjectives with prefixes like stra- and iper- still need to agree in gender and number?
Why is the verb fosse in the imperfect subjunctive here instead of the present subjunctive (sia) or the indicative (era)?
The main clause Non credevo che (I didn't believe that) expresses doubt or a subjective opinion, which triggers the subjunctive. Because the main verb is in a past tense (the imperfect), the subordinate clause must use a past subjunctive to show an action happening at the same time. Therefore, we use the imperfect subjunctive fosse.
Why does the sentence use strapieno di clienti instead of con (with) to say packed with customers?
In Italian, adjectives describing being full or empty almost always take the preposition di rather than con. Just like a glass is pieno d'acqua (full of water), the restaurant is strapieno di clienti (stuffed full of customers).
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