Breakdown of L'elettricista tirava i fili, mentre qualcuno tirava le fila della congiura.
di
of, from
qualcuno
someone
mentre
while
il filo
the thread
l'elettricista
the electrician (m/f)
tirare
to pull
la congiura
the conspiracy
Questions & Answers about L'elettricista tirava i fili, mentre qualcuno tirava le fila della congiura.
Why does the sentence use both i fili and le fila for the plural of il filo?
Filo (thread/wire) is a noun with two different plurals depending on its meaning. The masculine plural i fili is used for literal, physical threads or wires, like the ones the electrician is pulling. The feminine plural le fila is used for figurative or collective threads, like the invisible strings of a plot or conspiracy.
Are tirare i fili and tirare le fila both set idioms in Italian?
Why is the imperfect tense (tirava) used instead of the passato prossimo (ha tirato)?
The imperfect tense is used here to describe ongoing, continuous actions in the past. It translates nicely to "was pulling", highlighting that both the electrician's physical work and the conspirator's secret plotting were happening in the background simultaneously, connected by mentre (while).
Is l'elettricista masculine or feminine in this sentence?
Because of the apostrophe, we actually can't tell! Profession nouns ending in -ista are the same for both men and women in the singular. Normally, the article gives the gender away (il vs la), but before a vowel, both contract to l'. In the plural, however, they split distinctly into gli elettricisti (masculine) and le elettriciste (feminine).
Learn L'elettricista tirava i fili, mentre qualcuno tirava le fila della congiura and more in Italian
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free