Breakdown of La risposta è talmente lampante che chiunque può dedurla.
essere
to be
potere
can, to be able to
la risposta
the answer
la
her/it (direct object)
che
that (conjunction introducing a clause)
chiunque
anyone / whoever
talmente
so / so much (to such an extent)
lampante
blatant
dedurre
to deduce
Questions & Answers about La risposta è talmente lampante che chiunque può dedurla.
The current lesson is about negative declarations of certainty triggering the subjunctive. Why is the indicative verb può used here?
Because the main clause, La risposta è talmente lampante (The answer is so blatant), is a positive statement of absolute certainty, so no doubt is expressed. If we made it a negative declaration like Non è lampante che... (It is not blatant that...), it would trigger the subjunctive. Additionally, the che here introduces a consecutive clause (so blatant that...), which takes the indicative to state a factual result.
I learned before that chiunque triggers the subjunctive. Why is it chiunque può (indicative) here instead of chiunque possa?
Chiunque (whoever/anyone) triggers the subjunctive when used as an indefinite relative pronoun introducing a hypothetical, like Chiunque tu sia (Whoever you are). In this sentence, however, chiunque simply means 'any person' and acts as the subject of a factual result clause: the fact is that anyone can deduce it. Therefore, it takes the indicative.
Can I use così instead of talmente in this sentence?
Why does the pronoun la attach to the end of dedurre to make dedurla?
When attaching a direct object pronoun like la (meaning 'it,' referring back to la risposta) to an infinitive verb, you must drop the final -e of the infinitive. Since potere (può) is a modal verb, you actually have two choices: attach it to the infinitive as done here (può dedurla), or place it before the conjugated modal verb (la può dedurre). Both are perfectly natural and mean the exact same thing.
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