Breakdown of Queste sono le ultime volontà che ha lasciato il nonno, e noi ci teniamo.
essere
to be
e
and
questo
this (masculine)
noi
we
avere
to have
il nonno
the grandfather / the grandparents (plural)
lasciare
to leave (an object)
che
who, that (relative pronoun)
tenere a
to care about
ultimo
last (final)
la volontà
the will / the wish
Questions & Answers about Queste sono le ultime volontà che ha lasciato il nonno, e noi ci teniamo.
Why is the subject il nonno placed at the very end of the clause che ha lasciato il nonno?
In Italian relative clauses, placing the subject after the verb is a very common way to put natural focus on that subject. Saying che il nonno ha lasciato is technically correct, but che ha lasciato il nonno sounds much more natural to Italian ears because it smoothly highlights exactly who left the wishes.
What does the ci do in ci teniamo? Does it mean 'to us' here?
No, here it is part of the fixed pronominal verb tenerci, which means 'to care about something' or 'to attach importance to something'. The ci stands in for a questa cosa (to this thing). So noi ci teniamo simply means 'we care about them' (the last wishes).
Since volontà is plural here ('wishes'), why doesn't its ending change?
Volontà is feminine plural. Why is the verb ha lasciato instead of ha lasciate?
In this relative clause, che acts as the direct object replacing le ultime volontà. While agreeing the past participle with a relative pronoun object is technically allowed in classic grammar, it is almost never done in modern Italian. You leave it in the default masculine singular form (lasciato). Past participle agreement with the verb avere is only mandatory when using the direct object pronouns lo, la, li, and le.
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