Breakdown of Non so perché la volpe abbia smesso di cacciare.
non
not
avere
to have
perché
because, why
sapere
to know
smettere
to stop
di
to (linking a verb to a following infinitive)
cacciare
to hunt
la volpe
the fox
Questions & Answers about Non so perché la volpe abbia smesso di cacciare.
Why is abbia smesso in the subjunctive mood here?
The phrase non so perché introduces an indirect question based on doubt or uncertainty, which usually triggers the subjunctive in Italian. Because the fox stopped hunting before the present moment of you not knowing, it uses the past subjunctive (congiuntivo passato).
Since this lesson is about adding il to infinitives to make them nouns, could I say abbia smesso il cacciare here?
No, you cannot. The verb smettere (to stop or quit) strictly requires the preposition di when it is followed by an action. Even though il cacciare correctly translates to the noun concept of hunting, you must use the set structure smettere di followed by the standard infinitive.
Could I put the subject la volpe at the end of the sentence, like abbia smesso di cacciare la volpe?
Grammatically yes, but it would completely change the meaning! Because cacciare (to hunt) is a transitive verb, moving la volpe right after it makes it the direct object. The sentence would then mean 'I do not know why someone stopped hunting the fox', rather than the fox stopping its own hunting.
Does the verb cacciare only mean to hunt?
While it means to hunt in this context, cacciare is also very frequently used to mean to chase away, kick out, or expel. For example, you will often hear cacciare via used when talking about kicking someone out of a house or a venue.
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