Learn Italian: «L'ho sentito dire da tutti», disse Maria. - "I heard it from everyone," said Maria.

In written Italian, when reporting direct speech (like a quote in a book or article), it is standard to invert the subject and the reporting verb. Placing the subject after the verb, as in disse Maria instead of Maria disse, creates a smoother narrative flow and is the expected stylistic choice for these reporting clauses.

Why is the verb dire included? Doesn't L'ho sentito already mean "I heard it"?

While l'ho sentito can mean "I heard it" (referring to a physical sound or a specific voice), sentire dire is a set construction that means "to hear it said," "to hear about," or "to hear a rumor." Maria didn't just hear a noise; she heard a piece of information being spoken by others.

In the phrase da tutti, why is the preposition da used to mean "from"?

Because the literal structure of sentito dire is "heard (it) said," the preposition da introduces the agent of the action, just like in a passive sentence ("heard it said by everyone"). While English speakers naturally think "I heard it from someone," Italian requires da for the people doing the saying.

Why does the sentence use two different past tenses: ho sentito and disse?