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lui riusciva

could, was able to

→ riuscire
riusc to manage to, to succeed in + iva third-person singular imperfect
verb · 3rd-person singular, imperfect tense Rare #29,880
could, was able to Often used with a to-infinitive to say someone could or was able to do something.
IT: Luca non riusciva a dormire.
EN: Luca couldn't sleep.
Conjugation of riuscire
Indicative imperfect
SingularPlural
First riuscivo —
Second riuscivi —
Third riusciva riuscivano

Mia sorella voleva solo dimagrire, ma non ci riusciva.

My sister just wanted to lose weight, but she couldn't.

— Léon (1994)

Non riusciva assolutamente a tollerare l'odore orribile della cipolla marcia.

He absolutely couldn't stand the horrible smell of the rotten onion.

Mary non riusciva nemmeno a scrivere il suo nome.

Mary couldn't even write her name.

Era uno che non riusciva nemmeno ad allacciarsi le scarpe senza aiuto.

He was a guy who couldn't even tie his shoes without help.

— Mystic River (2003)

Mary mi disse che riusciva ad aiutarci.

Mary told me she could help us.

Non riusciva mai ad andare via.

He could never manage to leave.

— Effetto notte (1973)

Mary mi ha detto che riusciva ad aiutarci.

Mary told me she could help us.

Non riusciva mai a trovare le sue cose quando ne aveva bisogno.

He could never find his things when he needed them.

Le riusciva bene, complimenti.

You were good at it, congratulations.

— La donna che canta (2010)