Question 1

Why is the plural of greco written as greci and not grechi?

Accepted Answer

The plural of greco is a notable exception in Italian. Generally, words ending in -co with the stress on the second-to-last syllable keep the hard "k" sound in the plural by adding an "h" (like antico becoming antichi). However, greco irregularly takes a soft "c" sound (like in "cheese") in the plural, becoming greci.

Question 2

Why is the verb erano in the imperfect tense rather than the passato prossimo?

Accepted Answer

This sentence is an example of reported speech. Because the main verb ha detto establishes a past timeframe, the dependent clause must reflect that. We use the imperfect erano because the professor was describing an ongoing state or characteristic (the ruins being Roman) at that point in the past.

Question 3

How do we know the gender of the noun ruderi?

Accepted Answer

The singular form is il rudere (the ruin), which ends in -e. Nouns ending in -e can be masculine or feminine, so their gender simply has to be memorized. In this sentence, you can tell it is masculine plural because it is modified by the masculine plural demonstrative adjective questi.

Question 4

Could we use diceva instead of ha detto for "The professor said"?

Accepted Answer

Grammatically yes, but it would change the nuance. Ha detto implies he stated this fact as a single, completed event (for instance, during a specific lecture). Using the imperfect diceva would imply an ongoing or habitual action in the past, meaning "he used to say" or "he was saying".

Il professore ha detto che questi ruderi greci erano romani.

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