Breakdown of Non sapevamo se collegare l'amplificatore all'altoparlante.
non
not
a
to / at
sapere
to know
se
if
collegare
to connect
l'amplificatore
the amplifier (m)
l'altoparlante
the speaker (loudspeaker) (m)
Questions & Answers about Non sapevamo se collegare l'amplificatore all'altoparlante.
Why is the infinitive collegare used here instead of a conjugated verb?
This is an implicit indirect question. Because the subject of the main clause (Non sapevamo, 'we didn't know') is the same as the implied subject doing the connecting ('we'), you can use se followed directly by the infinitive (collegare). This perfectly mirrors the English structure 'whether to connect'.
Could I use a conjugated verb instead of collegare here?
Yes, you could make it an explicit indirect question. You could say Non sapevamo se dovevamo collegare... (We didn't know if we had to connect...). However, using the infinitive is much more natural, concise, and common when the subjects of both clauses match.
Why is it all'altoparlante rather than just l'altoparlante?
The verb collegare (to connect) requires the preposition a to indicate what you are connecting something to (the pattern is collegare qualcosa a qualcos'altro). Here, a combines with the definite article l' (for the masculine noun altoparlante) to become the articulated preposition all'.
Why is the imperfetto used for Non sapevamo instead of the passato prossimo?
The imperfetto is used to describe a continuous or ongoing state in the past. Here, 'not knowing' was a mental state happening over a period of time. If you used the passato prossimo (non abbiamo saputo), it would change the meaning to 'we didn't find out' or 'we didn't manage to know' as a completed, single event.
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