Breakdown of Ricordi il giorno che ho fatto l'esame?
avere
to have
il giorno
day
fare
to do / to make
l'esame
exam
ricordare
to remember
che
who, that (relative pronoun)
Questions & Answers about Ricordi il giorno che ho fatto l'esame?
Why is che used here instead of quando or in cui?
In colloquial, everyday Italian, che is often used as a shortcut for in cui (in which) or quando (when) right after words that refer to time, such as il giorno, l'anno, or il momento. If you were writing a formal essay, you would instead write il giorno in cui ho fatto l'esame.
Why does the sentence use fare (ho fatto) for 'took'? Shouldn't it be prendere?
This is a classic false friend for English speakers! In Italian, you never 'take' an exam with prendere. You always use fare (to do) for casual speech, or sostenere (to sustain) in more formal contexts.
Could I say Ti ricordi il giorno instead of just Ricordi?
Yes, absolutely. The verb 'to remember' can be used in its standard transitive form (ricordare) or its pronominal form (ricordarsi). Ricordi and Ti ricordi are completely interchangeable here, though the ti ricordi version is actually a bit more common in everyday spoken Italian.
Why is ho fatto in the passato prossimo instead of the imperfetto?
Taking the exam was a single, completed action that happened on that specific day. If you used the imperfetto (il giorno che facevo l'esame), it would imply an ongoing background action, meaning 'the day I was in the middle of taking the exam' (usually followed by an interruption).
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