Breakdown of Durante l'impresa, la squadra non si scoraggia nemmeno davanti al crepaccio più pericoloso.
non
not
pericoloso
dangerous
al
to the / at the
più
more / anymore (with 'non')
davanti
in front / ahead
la squadra
the team
nemmeno
not even
durante
during
scoraggiarsi
to get discouraged
l'impresa
the feat (f)
il crepaccio
the crevasse
Questions & Answers about Durante l'impresa, la squadra non si scoraggia nemmeno davanti al crepaccio più pericoloso.
Why is scoraggia used with the pronoun si here?
The verb scoraggiarsi is a pronominal verb that means to lose heart or to get discouraged. The pronoun si shows that the team is experiencing the feeling themselves, which fits perfectly with verbs of effort and resignation. If you dropped the si, the active verb scoraggiare would mean to discourage someone else.
Why does the sentence use both non and nemmeno?
Italian requires negative agreement. When a negative word like nemmeno, meaning not even, comes after the verb, you must also place non before the verb. Unlike in English, this does not cancel out the negative. Together, non si scoraggia nemmeno translates naturally as does not get discouraged, not even.
Could I say davanti il crepaccio instead of davanti al crepaccio?
No, the word davanti, meaning in front of, must be followed by the preposition a when linking to a noun. Since the masculine noun requires the definite article il, they combine to form the articulated preposition al.
How do we know più pericoloso means the most dangerous rather than just more dangerous?
In Italian, the relative superlative is formed using the definite article plus più. Here, the definite article is already packed into the word al, which is a plus il. Italian doesn't repeat the article before più, so al crepaccio più pericoloso automatically translates to in front of the most dangerous crevasse.
Doesn't impresa usually mean a company or business?
It often does in a commercial context! However, its underlying meaning is an undertaking or an enterprise. In the context of a team facing a dangerous crevasse, impresa is best translated as a feat, an epic mission, or a tough challenge.
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