English Translation
He was at pains to finish his work.
I just can’t get my head around the meaning/sense of “ci teneva” here. Can anyone help, please?
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I think it is the pronominal verb, tenerci.
Interestingly, I think it may be colloquial, idiomatic Italian rather than “official”.
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That’s really very helpful, David. Thanks. So, following up on this, I’ve just been on Reverso, looking up “ci tengo”, and there are lots of examples like “Ci tengo a miei amici” - “I care about my friends”; or “Ci tengo al futuro del nostro pianeta”. Or I came across “Ci tiene a te”: “You matter to him/He cares about you”. Good idiom!
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Sorry - that should have been “…ai miei amici”!
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Between David and Vincent I’ve been duly reminded of “ci tengo” so mille grazie ragazzi!