Breakdown of Mi parlava come se fosse il mio direttore.
parlare
to speak / to talk
il direttore
the manager / the director
come se
as if, as though (+ imperfect or pluperfect subjunctive)
Questions & Answers about Mi parlava come se fosse il mio direttore.
Why use fosse instead of the regular past tense era?
The phrase come se (as if) introduces a hypothetical comparison. In Italian, this always requires the subjunctive mood. Because it describes an unreal situation, you must use the imperfect subjunctive fosse.
If the sentence was happening right now (He talks to me as if...), would fosse change?
No! A unique rule about come se is that it always takes a past subjunctive tense. Even if the main verb is in the present tense (Mi parla), you still use the imperfect subjunctive to say he acts as if he were the boss right now: Mi parla come se fosse il mio direttore.
How do we know parlava and fosse mean he instead of I or you?
The verb endings tell us. The imperfect ending -ava in parlava and the imperfect subjunctive ending -e in fosse belong to the third person singular (he, she, or it). If it were I, it would be parlavo and fossi. The English translation uses he based on the surrounding context.
Why is it il mio direttore and not just mio direttore?
In Italian, you generally need a definite article like il before a possessive adjective like mio. The main exception is for singular family members, where the article is dropped (like mio padre). Since a boss is not family, the article is required here.
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