Breakdown of Fosse stata una partita di scacchi, quella scelta azzardata sarebbe stata fatale.
essere
to be
una
a / an (feminine)
quello
that
di
of, from
la partita
the match
la scelta
the choice
gli scacchi
the chess
fatale
fatal
azzardato
risky (rash, bold)
Questions & Answers about Fosse stata una partita di scacchi, quella scelta azzardata sarebbe stata fatale.
Where is the "if" in this sentence, and why does it start with "Fosse stata"?
This is an elegant, advanced way to form a hypothetical clause. By dropping se (if) and putting the subjunctive verb at the very beginning of the sentence, we get a structure that exactly matches the English "Had it been..." or "Were it...". You will see this often in written Italian or careful speech.
Why do both halves of the sentence use the feminine past participle "stata"?
Both clauses use compound tenses of the verb essere (to be), which means the past participle must agree with the subject in gender and number. In the first clause, the unspoken subject is "it" but the participle takes the feminine form to agree with the predicate noun una partita (a match). In the second clause, the subject is quella scelta azzardata (that risky choice), which is also feminine singular.
Could I just use the imperfect indicative here and say "Se era una partita..."?
In very casual, everyday spoken Italian, native speakers sometimes use the imperfect indicative for both halves of a past hypothetical situation (e.g., Se era una partita... era fatale). However, the standard, correct form requires the pluperfect subjunctive (fosse stata) for the condition and the past conditional (sarebbe stata) for the result. Also, remember that if you drop se, you must use the subjunctive!
Why use "partita" here instead of "gioco" for a game of chess?
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