Breakdown of Il truffatore avrebbe scelto un bersaglio più ricco, se fosse stato possibile.
essere
to be
un
a / an (masculine)
avere
to have
se
if
più
more / anymore (with 'non')
ricco
rich
scegliere
to choose
possibile
possible
il truffatore
the scammer
il bersaglio
the target
Questions & Answers about Il truffatore avrebbe scelto un bersaglio più ricco, se fosse stato possibile.
Why does the "se" clause use "fosse stato" instead of the regular indicative "era stato"?
This is a Type 3 conditional sentence, which expresses an impossible condition in the past (a hypothetical scenario that didn't actually happen). In Italian, the se (if) clause of a past hypothetical must always use the past perfect subjunctive (congiuntivo trapassato). Here, that is fosse stato.
Why does "se fosse stato possibile" use the auxiliary verb "essere" rather than "avere"?
The main verb in that clause is essere (to be), used to say "it had been possible". In Italian compound tenses, the verb essere always takes itself as its auxiliary. Therefore, you use fosse (the imperfect subjunctive of essere) plus stato (the past participle of essere).
Since this lesson is about the pleonastic "non" in comparisons, why isn't there one after "più ricco"?
The pleonastic non is only used when a comparison is followed by a full clause containing a conjugated verb, usually introduced by di quanto or che (for example, un bersaglio più ricco di quanto non pensassimo - a richer target than we thought). In this sentence, più ricco is just a simple adjective modifying un bersaglio, with the "than" part of the comparison left implied. Without that secondary clause and verb, a pleonastic non cannot be used.
Is "bersaglio" only used figuratively for things like scams?
No, bersaglio translates to "target" and is used just as broadly as it is in English. It can refer to a figurative target (like the victim of a truffatore, or the butt of a joke) or a literal, physical target (like in archery, darts, or a military operation).
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