Breakdown of A proposito, mi sorprende che Marco abbia ripreso a divagare.
avere
to have
Marco
Marco
mi
me (direct object)
sorprendere
to surprise
che
that (conjunction introducing a clause)
a
(linking a verb to a following infinitive)
a proposito
by the way
divagare
to digress
riprendere
to resume
Questions & Answers about A proposito, mi sorprende che Marco abbia ripreso a divagare.
How is a proposito used here compared to other discourse markers like comunque?
A proposito (by the way / speaking of which) is used to pivot to a related thought that just crossed your mind. It branches the topic rather than returning to a previous one. If you wanted to stop Marco's rambling and return to the main point, you would use a resumption marker like comunque (anyway) instead.
Could I place a proposito at the end of the sentence?
No. Unlike in English where you can sometimes tag 'by the way' at the end of a thought, Italian discourse markers of digression like a proposito almost always sit at the very beginning of the sentence or clause to signal the upcoming shift in topic.
Why do we use the past subjunctive abbia ripreso in this sentence?
The main clause mi sorprende che (it surprises me that) expresses a personal emotion, which triggers the subjunctive mood in the dependent clause. Because Marco's action of resuming happened before your current feeling of surprise, you must use the past subjunctive (congiuntivo passato) to show that earlier timeframe.
Why is there an a between ripreso and divagare?
When the verb riprendere (to resume / to start again) is followed by another verb in the infinitive, it requires the preposition a to connect them. This is a common pattern for Italian verbs of beginning and continuing, such as cominciare a and continuare a.
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