Breakdown of La sua insonnia è peggiorata due anni fa.
essere
to be
l'anno
the year (m)
suo
his/her/Your
due
two
peggiorare
to worsen
fa
ago
l'insonnia
the insomnia (f)
Questions & Answers about La sua insonnia è peggiorata due anni fa.
Why does peggiorare use essere (è peggiorata) instead of avere here?
Verbs of change like peggiorare (to worsen) and migliorare (to improve) take essere when they are intransitive, meaning the subject itself is changing, as with insonnia here. If someone worsened a situation (transitive), you would use avere, as in Ha peggiorato le cose. Because it uses essere, the past participle must agree with the feminine singular subject, becoming peggiorata.
Could I use peggio (worse) here instead of the verb peggiorare?
Not in the exact same structure. Peggio is an adverb or invariable adjective, whereas peggiorare is the verb 'to worsen'. You could rephrase using the verb andare with the adverb, such as La sua insonnia è andata peggio due anni fa. However, using the dedicated verb peggiorare is the most natural way to describe a condition getting worse.
Since the English translation says 'His insomnia', why is the feminine sua used?
In Italian, possessive adjectives agree in gender and number with the noun being possessed, not the owner. Since insonnia is a feminine noun, it requires la sua, regardless of whether it belongs to a man or a woman.
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