Learn Italian: Non stavamo andando al pub, anzi, abbiamo improvvisato e siamo andati al casinò. - We weren't going to the pub, on the contrary, we improvised and went to the casino.

Word

Non stavamo andando al pub, anzi, abbiamo improvvisato e siamo andati al casinò.

Meaning

We weren't going to the pub, on the contrary, we improvised and went to the casino.

Part of speech

sentence

Pronunciation

Course

Italian

Lesson

Corrective connector (anzi)

Breakdown of Non stavamo andando al pub, anzi, abbiamo improvvisato e siamo andati al casinò.

Questions & Answers about Non stavamo andando al pub, anzi, abbiamo improvvisato e siamo andati al casinò.

How is anzi being used in this specific sentence?

In this sentence, anzi is used to contradict the negative statement Non stavamo andando al pub. Because it follows a negative, it takes the corrective meaning of "on the contrary" or "actually," setting up the real, unexpected action that happened instead.

Why does the sentence start with stavamo andando instead of andavamo or siamo andati?

Stavamo andando is the imperfect progressive (past continuous), formed with the imperfect of stare plus the gerund. It is used here to emphasize that "going to the pub" was an ongoing action or plan in progress, which was suddenly dropped and replaced by the decision to improvise.

Why does the auxiliary verb switch from abbiamo to siamo in the second half?

The verb improvvisare uses avere (abbiamo improvvisato) like most standard verbs. However, andare is a verb of motion, which requires the auxiliary essere. This is why it becomes siamo andati, and you must remember to change the past participle ending to -i so it agrees with the plural subject.

How important is the accent mark on casinò?