Italian conjugation explanation

Inferring the subject from the context

<p>When a verb uses the <strong style="font-style: italic;">essere</strong> auxiliary verb, the <strong>past participle</strong> in its compound forms <strong>has to agree in gender and number with the subject</strong>. When the sentence doesn't contain any clues regarding the gender and number of the subject, there can be multiple correct answers. However, the sentence sometimes contains subtle context clues that determine the only acceptable past participle agreement:</p>

<ul>

<li>

<p>When the same subject has another <span class="green_emphasis">past participle</span> form that requires agreement, they have to have the same gender and number:</p>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence">Io sono <span class="green_emphasis">tornata</span> a casa, poi sono <span class="green_emphasis">uscita</span> con le mie amiche. (<span style="font-style: italic;">I went home, then went out with my friends.</span>)</div>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence_note">(The subject [I/io] is <strong>feminine singular</strong>.)</div>

</li>

<li>

<p>When there is an <span class="brown_emphasis">adjective</span> describing the same subject, they have to have the same gender and number:</p>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence">Io sono <span class="green_emphasis">nato</span> <span class="brown_emphasis">ricco</span>. (<span style="font-style: italic;">I was born rich.</span>)</div>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence_note">(The subject [I/io] is <strong>masculine singular</strong>.)</div>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence">Siete <span class="green_emphasis">state</span> a casa da <span class="brown_emphasis">sole</span>? (<span style="font-style: italic;">Did you stay home alone?</span>)</div>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence_note">(The subject [you/voi] is <strong>feminine plural</strong>.)</div>

</li>

<li>

<p>The <strong>name(s)</strong> of the subject can provide context clues as well:</p>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence"><strong>Io e Tommaso</strong> siamo <span class="green_emphasis">cresciuti</span> assieme. (<span style="font-style: italic;">Tommaso and I grew up together.</span>)</div>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence_note">(The subject is a group with at least one masculine member, so the past participle should be <strong>masculine plural</strong>.)</div>

</li>

</ul>