Breakdown of Siccome ha una forte riluttanza a cambiare, Maria sabota il suo successo.
una
a / an (feminine)
avere
to have
suo
his/her/Your
Maria
Maria
forte
strong
siccome
since
il successo
success
cambiare
to change
a
(linking a verb to a following infinitive)
la riluttanza
reluctance
sabotare
to sabotage
Questions & Answers about Siccome ha una forte riluttanza a cambiare, Maria sabota il suo successo.
Why is it riluttanza a cambiare instead of riluttanza di cambiare?
In Italian, certain nouns require specific prepositions before an infinitive. Nouns that express a tendency, readiness, or resistance (like riluttanza, tendenza, or abitudine) usually take a. Nouns expressing an idea, desire, or need (like idea, bisogno, or desiderio) typically take di.
Could I use perché instead of siccome here?
You can, but you would have to move it to the middle of the sentence: Maria sabota il suo successo perché ha una forte riluttanza a cambiare. When you want to state the cause at the very beginning of the sentence, siccome or dato che (since / given that) are the natural choices, whereas perché sounds awkward at the start.
Does the verb cambiare always take the preposition a?
No, the preposition here is determined by the noun riluttanza, not by the verb cambiare. If you used a different noun, like the fear of changing, it would be la paura di cambiare. The noun dictates the preposition, not the infinitive that follows it.
Why is it il suo successo rather than just suo successo?
In Italian, possessive adjectives almost always need a definite article before them (il, la, i, le). The main exception is with singular, unmodified family members (like mio padre), but since successo is not a family member, it requires the article il.
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