Learn Italian: Malgrado gli stivali, sprofondavamo nel fango. - Despite the boots, we were sinking into the mud.

Malgrado gli stivali, sprofondavamo nel fango.

Despite the boots, we were sinking into the mud.

Breakdown of Malgrado gli stivali, sprofondavamo nel fango.

lo stivale

the boot

nel

in the (in + il) / while / upon (doing something)

il fango

the mud

malgrado

despite (in spite of)

Questions & Answers about Malgrado gli stivali, sprofondavamo nel fango.

Does malgrado need a preposition like di after it?

No. Unlike English, where we have to add a word to say in spite of, malgrado connects directly to the article and noun. You simply say malgrado gli stivali without adding an extra preposition.

Could I use nonostante instead of malgrado here?

Yes, they are completely interchangeable when followed by a noun. Nonostante gli stivali means exactly the same thing and is just as common in everyday Italian.

Why is the verb in the imperfect tense (sprofondavamo) instead of the passato prossimo?

The imperfect is used here to describe an ongoing, continuous action in the past. It sets a descriptive scene indicating that we were sinking over a period of time, rather than pointing to a single, completed event.

Why does the sentence use nel for into the mud?

The verb sprofondare (to sink) takes the preposition in to express going deep into a substance. When you combine in with the definite article il for the masculine noun fango, it forms the combined preposition nel.