Breakdown of Non ci tiene all'etica, e neanche alla coerenza.
e
and
non
not
a
to / at
la
her/it (direct object)
neanche
not even
tenerci
to care about / attach importance to (pronominal)
l'etica
the ethics (f)
la coerenza
the consistency (coherence)
Questions & Answers about Non ci tiene all'etica, e neanche alla coerenza.
If all'etica already means 'about ethics', why do we need the pronoun ci in ci tiene? Doesn't ci normally replace an a phrase?
Yes, normally ci replaces a phrase starting with a. However, in the pronominal verb tenerci (to care about), the ci is crystallized as a permanent part of the verb's identity. Even when you explicitly state the object you care about using a (like all'etica), the ci must stay.
Why do we use all' and alla here instead of just the direct objects l'etica and la coerenza?
Because the verb tenerci requires the preposition a to connect to the thing you care about. You must combine this a with the definite articles of the nouns, giving you all'etica (a + l') and alla coerenza (a + la).
Is non ... neanche a double negative, and is that allowed?
Could I use né... né (neither... nor) in this sentence instead of e neanche?
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