Breakdown of Che quell'entità non possieda il medium!
non
not
quello
that
che
let (introducing a third-person command)
il medium
the medium
l'entità
the entity (f)
possedere
to possess
Questions & Answers about Che quell'entità non possieda il medium!
Why does this sentence start with Che and use the subjunctive possieda?
This is the exhortative subjunctive. Since the true imperative mood is only used to directly command tu, noi, and voi, Italian uses Che followed by the present subjunctive to issue a command or express a strong wish to a third party (he, she, it, or they). In English, this usually translates to 'Let [someone] do [something]' or 'May [someone] do [something]'.
Why is the negative command formed with non possieda? Shouldn't negative commands use the infinitive?
Using non plus the infinitive (which would be non possedere) is a rule strictly for the informal second-person singular (tu). For third-party commands like this one, you simply place non before the conjugated subjunctive verb, exactly as you would in a regular descriptive statement.
Possieda comes from the verb possedere. Why does it have an i in the middle?
Possedere (to possess or own) follows a specific irregular pattern. When the spoken stress falls on the stem, the root vowel e changes to a diphthong ie. This gives us the subjunctive form possieda. If the stress shifts to the ending, as in the noi or voi forms, the i disappears, leaving us with possediamo and possediate.
Is entità masculine or feminine, and how would it change in the plural?
It is a feminine noun, which is why it takes quell' (short for quella before a vowel). Nouns ending in an accented vowel are invariable in Italian, meaning their spelling does not change in the plural. To say 'those entities', you would change the determiner but leave the noun alone, resulting in quelle entità.
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