Breakdown of Il re spietato esigeva che nessuno gli parlasse affatto.
parlare
to speak / to talk
nessuno
nobody
il re
the king
che
that (conjunction introducing a clause)
affatto
at all
spietato
ruthless
esigere
to demand (require, exact)
Questions & Answers about Il re spietato esigeva che nessuno gli parlasse affatto.
Why do we use che nessuno gli parlasse instead of a di + infinitive construction here?
When reporting a command, request, or demand, you use di + infinitive when the subject of both verbs is the same, or when the command is directed at a specific indirect object (like Il re gli ha ordinato di non parlare). Here, the king (il re) is demanding a general rule for other people (nessuno). Because the subject shifts from the king to 'nobody', we must use che followed by the subjunctive.
Why is parlasse in the imperfect subjunctive rather than the present subjunctive?
This is due to the sequence of tenses. The main verb that triggers the subjunctive, esigeva (demanded), is in a past tense. To show that the demanded action was happening in that same past timeframe, the dependent verb must be shifted back to the imperfect subjunctive (parlasse).
Why isn't there a non before the verb if the meaning is negative ('nobody speak')?
How does affatto work in this sentence without a non?
Affatto means 'at all' and is used to strongly emphasize a negative statement. While it is most commonly paired with non (as in non parlo affatto), here the negation is already provided by nessuno. Affatto simply attaches to that existing negative structure to mean 'nobody... whatsoever' or 'nobody... at all'.
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