Breakdown of Dopo aver finito la cena, restano sempre molti avanzi.
avere
to have
molto
a lot of / much
sempre
always
finire
to finish
la cena
the dinner
restare
to stay, to remain
dopo
after
l'avanzo
the leftover (m)
Questions & Answers about Dopo aver finito la cena, restano sempre molti avanzi.
How would we rewrite the main clause to emphasize that leftovers are what remain, using the pseudo-cleft structure from this lesson?
You could say: Quello che resta sempre dopo aver finito la cena sono molti avanzi (What always remains after finishing dinner are many leftovers). Notice how the verb essere becomes plural (sono) to agree with the focus (molti avanzi), even though the pseudo-cleft clause starts with the singular Quello che.
Why is it Dopo aver finito and not Dopo essere finito? Doesn't the verb finire often take essere in the past tense?
Finire takes the auxiliary avere when it is transitive, meaning it has a direct object. Here, the subject is finishing something (la cena). If the dinner itself were the subject finishing, it would be intransitive and take essere (for example, Dopo che la cena è finita...).
Why is the subject molti avanzi placed at the very end of the sentence?
Since the verb comes before the subject here, what is a common trap for English speakers to avoid?
English speakers often accidentally use a singular verb here (resta) because they mentally translate it using a dummy subject like 'there remains' or 'it remains'. You must always look ahead to find the true subject in Italian. Because the subject is the plural molti avanzi, the verb must be the plural restano.
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