Breakdown of Se avesse avuto la determinazione a continuare, non avrebbe fallito.
non
not
avere
to have
se
if
continuare
to continue
a
(linking a verb to a following infinitive)
fallire
to fail
la determinazione
the determination
Questions & Answers about Se avesse avuto la determinazione a continuare, non avrebbe fallito.
Why does determinazione take 'a' before the infinitive continuare instead of 'di'?
Many abstract nouns related to readiness, tendency, or resolve require the preposition a before an infinitive. Like tendenza a (tendency to) or disposizione a (willingness to), determinazione a expresses a forward-looking action or commitment. In contrast, nouns expressing a feeling, need, or opportunity usually take di.
Why do we use the past perfect subjunctive (avesse avuto) in the 'se' clause?
This is a Type 3 conditional sentence, which talks about an impossible or unreal situation in the past (he didn't have the determination, so he failed). In Italian, the condition clause for past unreal situations always requires the past perfect subjunctive (trapassato congiuntivo), while the result clause uses the past conditional (avrebbe fallito).
Why does fallito take the auxiliary verb avere here? I thought fallire could take essere.
Fallire takes avere when a person fails at a task, a test, or a goal, as it does here. It takes essere when it means 'to go bankrupt' or when referring to a thing or project that failed, such as il progetto è fallito (the project failed). Since a person is the subject failing here, avere is the correct auxiliary.
Why is the definite article 'la' included before determinazione? Could we just say 'avesse avuto determinazione'?
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