Breakdown of Non deve meravigliarsi che l'appalto sia andato a loro.
essere
to be
non
not
loro
they
andare
to go / to be fine / to work out
a
to / at
dovere
must
che
that (conjunction introducing a clause)
meravigliarsi
to be surprised
l'appalto
the contract / the tender (procurement, public works) (m)
Questions & Answers about Non deve meravigliarsi che l'appalto sia andato a loro.
Wait, shouldn't it be 'meravigliarsi di che' since the verb is 'meravigliarsi di'?
Normally, meravigliarsi is followed by the preposition di when linking to a noun or a pronoun (for example, si meraviglia di lui). However, when linking to a full clause that starts with the conjunction che (meaning 'that'), Italian grammar requires you to drop the preposition entirely. You cannot say di che in this context; it must simply be che.
Why is the verb sia andato in the subjunctive mood?
The subjunctive is triggered here because the main verb meravigliarsi expresses an emotion or a personal reaction (surprise). Whenever a main clause states an emotion about an action in a secondary clause, the verb in that secondary clause must take the subjunctive.
The translation says 'You', but deve is third-person singular. Is this formal?
Yes. Using the third-person singular deve combined with the third-person reflexive pronoun si attached to the infinitive (meravigliarsi) indicates the formal Lei (formal 'you'). If this were an informal statement, it would be Non devi meravigliarti.
Could the reflexive pronoun si go somewhere else in the sentence?
Yes, with modal verbs like dovere, the reflexive pronoun can either attach to the end of the infinitive, exactly as seen here (deve meravigliarsi), or it can be placed before the conjugated modal verb (non si deve meravigliare). Both structures are perfectly correct and mean the exact same thing.
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