Breakdown of La tigre ha smesso bruscamente di ruggire.
smettere
to stop
di
to (linking a verb to a following infinitive)
la tigre
the tiger
bruscamente
abruptly / sharply
ruggire
to roar
Questions & Answers about La tigre ha smesso bruscamente di ruggire.
The current lesson focuses on mettersi a to show an action starting. How does smettere di fit in?
While mettersi a is an aspectual periphrasis showing the sudden beginning of an action, smettere di shows the exact opposite: the cessation of an action. The key grammar point to remember is the different prepositions: starting takes a (mettersi a ruggire) but stopping takes di (smettere di ruggire).
Why is the adverb bruscamente placed right after ha smesso?
Adverbs of manner like bruscamente typically follow the verb. In a compound tense like the passato prossimo, they are most naturally placed right after the past participle (smesso) and before the prepositional phrase. This contrasts with English, where we often put the adverb before the verb (abruptly stopped).
Could we use finire di instead of smettere di in this sentence?
You could, but it changes the meaning slightly. Smettere di implies quitting or interrupting an action, which fits perfectly with the adverb bruscamente (abruptly). Finire di means completing an action naturally until it is done. Since the tiger abruptly cut off its roaring, smettere di is the much better choice here.
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