Question 1

What exactly does pur di add to this sentence that a simple per wouldn't?

Accepted Answer

Pur di expresses an extreme or desperate purpose—doing something drastic "just to" or "at all costs" to achieve a goal. If the sentence used per arricchirvi, it would simply state the neutral purpose: "in order to get rich." Using pur di highlights the ruthless lengths they went to.

Question 2

Why is the pronoun vi attached to the end of arricchire?

Accepted Answer

The verb for "to get rich" is the reflexive arricchirsi (literally, "to enrich oneself"). Since the subject of the sentence is voi (you plural), the reflexive pronoun must match it, becoming vi. When following a preposition like di, the verb stays in the infinitive, drops its final -e, and the pronoun attaches directly to the end to form arricchirvi.

Question 3

Could I use avere and say avete diventati instead of siete diventati?

Accepted Answer

No, verbs that describe a change of state, such as diventare (to become), always use essere as their auxiliary verb in compound tenses. Because it takes essere, the past participle diventato must also agree with the plural subject voi, changing its ending to -i.

Question 4

The English translation says "cruel", but why doesn't the Italian adjective end in -o or -a?

Accepted Answer

The dictionary form of the adjective for "cruel" is crudele. Adjectives that end in -e in their singular form do not have separate masculine and feminine endings. Instead, they always change to -i in the plural. Since it describes the plural voi, it becomes crudeli.

Voi siete diventati crudeli pur di arricchirvi.

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