Breakdown of Pur di scavalcare i rivali, quel politico ha ingannato tutti.
quello
that
avere
to have
tutto
everything
il politico
the politician
ingannare
to deceive
pur di
just to / in order to (at any cost)
il rivale
rival
scavalcare
to bypass / to step over
Questions & Answers about Pur di scavalcare i rivali, quel politico ha ingannato tutti.
How does pur di differ from just using per to express purpose here?
Could we use a conjugated verb after pur di instead of the infinitive scavalcare?
No, the phrase pur di is always followed by an infinitive, forming what is called an implicit clause. This structure works perfectly here because the subject performing both actions (bypassing and deceiving) is exactly the same person: quel politico.
The verb scavalcare translates to bypass, but what is its literal meaning?
Literally, scavalcare means to climb over or vault over, like jumping over a wall or a fence. In professional or political contexts, it is a very common metaphor for stepping over someone, going over their head, or unfairly outdoing rivals.
Why is the phrase for that politician quel politico instead of quello politico?
The demonstrative adjective quello alters its ending to match the definite article the noun would take. Because politico starts with a single consonant and takes the article il, the word quello drops its ending to become quel. You only use the full quello before words that require lo, such as quello specchio.
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