Word
Ieri ho saputo la notizia.
Meaning
Yesterday I found out the news.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
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Questions & Answers about Ieri ho saputo la notizia.
Why does ho saputo translate to "I found out" instead of "I knew"?
The verb sapere usually means "to know". However, when you use it in the passato prossimo (the past tense used here: ho saputo), it describes a single, completed event, so it means "found out" or "learned". To say "I knew" as an ongoing state in the past, you would use the imperfect tense: sapevo.
Why is notizia singular here when the English translation is "news"?
In English, "news" is an uncountable word. In Italian, notizia is a countable noun meaning "a piece of news". Because the speaker is talking about one specific new piece of information, they use the singular la notizia. If you were talking about multiple pieces of news in general, you would use the plural le notizie.
Would I use la notizia to say I am watching the news on TV?
Why does sapere use avere (ho) as its helper verb?