Easy Learning Italian Grammar (2011)

VERBS

17. The subjunctive

What is the subjunctive?

The subjunctive is a verb form that is often used in Italian to express wishes, thoughts and beliefs. In English the subjunctive is only used occasionally, mainly in formal language, for example, If I were you…; So be it; He asked that they be removed.

1 Using the subjunctive

If you have the word che (meaning that) in an Italian sentence you often have to use the subjunctive.

The subjunctive is used after che:

following verbs such as pensare (meaning to think), credere (meaning to believe/think) and sperare (meaning to hope).

Tip

Whereas in English you can say either I think… or I think that… in Italian you always say che.

following the verb volere (meaning to want).

2 How to make the present subjunctive

To make the present subjunctive of most verbs, take off the –o ending of the io form and add endings.

For –are verbs the endings are –i, –i, –i, –iamo, –iate, –ino.

For –ere and –ire verbs the endings are –a, –a, –a, –iamo, –iate, –ano.

Note that in the case of –ire verbs which add –isc in the io form, for example finisco (meaning I finish) and pulisco (meaning I clean), –isc is not added in the noi and voi forms.

Tip

The io, tu, lui and lei forms of the present subjunctive are all the same. The noi form of the present subjunctive is the same as the present simple.

For more information on the Present simple, see page 69.

The following table shows the present subjunctive of three regular verbs: parlare (meaning to speak), credere (meaning to believe) and finire (meaning to finish).

Some common verbs that are irregular in the ordinary present tense also have irregular present subjunctives:

Key points

When you express a wish, hope, or belief with a verb + che, the verb following che should be in the subjunctive.

che cannot be missed out in Italian.

3 When to use the present subjunctive

Use the present subjunctive when you’re saying what you think, feel or hope.

The following are common verbs and expressions used to express opinions and hopes. They are used with che followed by the subjunctive:

pensare che to think (that)

credere che to believe/think (that)

supporre che to suppose (that)

sperare che to hope (that)

essere contento che to be glad (that)

mi dispiace che I’m sorry (that)

è facile che it’s likely (that)

può darsi che it’s possible (that)

è un peccato che it’s a pity (that)

Tip

It is best to learn the irregular subjunctives of common verbs such as avere (meaning to have), essere (meaning to be), andare (meaning to go) and fare (meaning to make or do).

che is not always followed by the subjunctive. Use the ordinary present, future and so on, when you’re saying what you know, or are sure of.

Key points

Use the present subjunctive + che to say what you think, feel or hope.

Do not use the subjunctive + che to say what you know or are sure of.

Grammar Extra!

Verbs and verbal expressions that express thoughts and hopes are followed by di + the infinitive, instead of che + the subjunctive if the subject of the sentence is thinking, hoping or feeling something about themselves.

Compare the following examples: in the sentences on the left side the two verbs have the same subect – I… I… and so on. These use di + infinitive. In the sentences on the right the two verbs have different subjects – I… they… and so on. These use che + subjunctive.

4 Infinitive or subjunctive after volere?

volere can be used with either the infinitive or the subjunctive.

As in English, the infinitive is used in Italian to say what you want to do.

However, when you’re saying what you want someone else to do, or how you want something to be, you use che followed by the present subjunctive.

When you’re saying what you wanted someone else to do in the past, or how you wanted something to be, change the present subjunctive to the imperfect subjunctive.

For more information on the Imperfect subjunctive, see page 136.

Grammar Extra!

The subjunctive is used after certain conjunctions which include che:

prima che before

Note that prima di and the infinitive is used if the two verbs have the same subject:

affinché so that

a meno che unless

nel caso che in case

For more information on Conjunctions, see page 187.

5 How to make the perfect subjunctive

To make the perfect subjunctive you simply use the subjunctive of avere (meaning to have) or essere (meaning to be) with the past participle.

For example, fare (meaning to make or to do) makes its ordinary perfect tense and its perfect subjunctive with avere, while essere makes its ordinary perfect tense and its perfect subjunctive with essere.

For more information on the Perfect tense and Past participles, see pages 108-109.

6 When to use the perfect subjunctive

When you want to say what you think or hope about something in the past, use a verb such as penso che and spero che, followed by the perfect subjunctive.

7 Avoiding the perfect subjunctive

Instead of using expressions such as penso che and è possibile che with the perfect subjunctive, you can use secondo me (meaning in my opinion) or forse(meaning perhaps) with the ordinary perfect tense to say what you think or believe.

For more information on the Perfect tense, see page 108.

You can also avoid using the perfect subjunctive by saying what you think first, and adding a verb such as penso, credo or spero to the end of the sentence.

Key points

When you express a wish, hope, or belief about something in the past, the verb following che should be in the perfect subjunctive.

you can sometimes reword sentences to avoid using the perfect subjunctive.

8 How to make the imperfect subjunctive

The imperfect subjunctive is made by adding endings to the verb stem.

The endings for –are verbs are –assi, –assi, –asse, –assimo, –aste, and –assero; the endings for –ere verbs are –essi, –essi, –esse, –essimo, –este, and –essero; the endings for –ire verbs are –issi, –issi, –isse, –issimo, –iste and –issero.

The following table shows the imperfect subjunctive of three regular verbs: parlare (meaning to speak), credere (meaning to believe) and finire (meaning to finish).

The imperfect subjunctive of essere is as follows:

The imperfect subjunctive of the other important irregular verbs – bere (meaning to drink), dare (meaning to give), dire (meaning to say), fare (meaning to make or to do) and stare (meaning to be) – is as follows:

9 When to use the imperfect subjunctive

The imperfect subjunctive is used to talk about what you wanted someone to do in the past, or about how you wanted things to be.

In English, when you are talking about what you would do in an imagined situation, the past tense is used to describe the situation, for example, What would you do if you won the lottery?

In Italian the imperfect subjunctive is used for this kind of imagined situation, which is often introduced by se (meaning if).

Key points

The imperfect subjunctive is used when talking about what you wanted someone to do, or how you wanted things to be.

The imperfect subjunctive is used to talk about imagined situations.