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Imperfetto Subjunctive for Past Tense (Part 3): Speak Italian!

January 11, 2019Let's Learn Italian!Conversational Italian, How to conjugate Italian subjunctive mood, How to conjugate Italian subjunctive mood past, Imperfetto subjunctive, Imperfetto subjunctive mood, imperfetto verb conjugations, irregular imperfetto verbs, Italian conversation, Italian Imperfetto Subjunctive, Italian Language, Italian Subjunctive, Italian Subjunctive Mode, Italian subjunctive mood, learn Italian, Learn Italian language, regular imperfetto verbs, Speak Italian, Stella Lucente, Subjunctive past in Italian, trapassato subjunctiveKathryn Occhipinti

Imperfetto Subjunctive for Past Tense (Part 3): Speak Italian!

The Italian subjunctive mood is easy to conjugate for use with the Italian past tense, but tricky to use!

Speak Italian: How to Use the Imperfetto Subjunctive Mood

Can you speak Italian? By now, many of you have passed the beginning stages of learning to speak Italian and can read and comprehend quite a bit of the Italian language. Meraviglioso!

But have you tried to take the next step to speak Italian fluently? Can you use the Italian subjunctive mood when you are speaking in the past tense? To express complex feelings in Italian correctly, it is important to use the Italian subjunctive mood. Using the subjunctive mood is difficult for English speakers, as we only rarely use this tense in English, and this is something that I am always working on! This is the third blog in the “Speak Italian” series that will focus on how to conjugate and use the imperfetto subjunctive mood, or “il congiuntivo” for speaking in the past tense.

Let’s take that giant step from simple beginning sentences to more complex and fluid sentences in Italian by using the imperfetto subjunctive mood while speaking in the past tense. In this segment, we will discuss when the helping verbs dovere, potere and volere take the subjunctive mood.

We will also repeat the Italian conjugation of the imperfetto subjunctive form for the regular and irregular -are, -ere, and -ire verbs and then present the conjugation of the modal, or helping, verbs dovere, potere, and volere. Finally, we will revisit the trapassato subjunctive mood from our previous blog on Italian hypothetical phrases. Example sentences will follow!

Speak Italian: How to Use the Imperfetto Subjunctive Mood

In each blog in the “Speak Italian” series about the imperfetto Italian subjunctive mood (“il congiuntivo”), we will first present phrases that take the Italian subjunctive mood.

Then, we will review how to conjugate the imperfetto subjunctive mood.

Finally, we will present common phrases from daily life that take the imperfetto subjunctive mood.

Remember these examples as “anchors” in your knowledge for when you must speak Italian and try out the imperfetto subjunctive mood in your next Italian conversation!

Enjoy the third blog in this series, “Imperfetto Subjunctive for Past Tense (Part 3): Speak Italian!”
—Kathryn Occhipinti

Some of this material is adapted from our textbook, Conversational Italian for Travelers © 2012 by Stella Lucente, LLC, found on www.learntravelitalian.com. Special thanks to Italian instructors Simona Giuggioli and Maria Vanessa Colapinto.

Speak Italian: How to Use the Imperfetto Subjunctive Mood (Part 3)

Once Again… Italian Phrases That Take the Imperfetto Subjunctive Mood

Italian has a subjunctive mood that is used to express beliefs, thoughts, or hopes with the verbs credere, pensare, and sperare.

The subjunctive mood is also said to “open up” a conversation to discussion about a particular topic by expressing doubt, uncertainty, desire, or a feeling.

We have already learned to use the imperfetto subjunctive mood with the conditional tense in our blogs about Italian hypothetical phrases! Now, as stated before, we will focus on the use of the imperfetto subjunctive mood after introductory phrases that are in the past tense.

In our first blog about the imperfetto subjunctive mood, we learned that these initial phrases fall into several groups. We discussed Groups 1 through Group 6, which are given below for review.

In our second blog about the imperfetto subjunctive mood, we discussed Groups 7 and 8.

These groups are again listed below for review.

In this blog, we will discuss phrases that express feelings (any emotion, fear, or surprise) in Group 9 and describe the situations in the past in which they are used to introduce the imperfetto subjunctive mood.

We will also now discuss Group 10, in which we list individual words that refer to the purpose or timing of an action that, when in the past, must be followed by the imperfetto subjunctive mood. These words are part of “adverbial clauses” that modify verbs. As such, they are often used in the phrase that completes a sentence, but can also be found at the beginning of a sentence. Many of these words are easy to recognize since they end in -che.

Finally, Groups 11 and 12 are individual adjectives or pronouns that can introduce another clause and when describing the past must be followed by the imperfetto subjective mood.

At the end of the list, we will also include the topic of a series of blogs on Italian hypothetical phrases, to complete our discussion of specific words or phrases that can be used to introduce the subjunctive mood.

Groups 1-9: “Noun Clauses”

Group 10: “Adverbial Clauses”

Groups 11 and 12: “Adjective/Pronoun Clauses”

1. 1. Phrases that use the verbs credere (to believe), pensare (to think), and sperare (to hope). These verbs use the pattern: [verb + di + infinitive verb] to describe the beliefs, thoughts, or hopes that one has. When the subject in the introductory phrase is not the same as the subject in the subjunctive clause that follows, the pattern changes to: [verb + che + subjunctive verb].*
  2. Impersonal constructions that begin with, “It is…” such as, “È possibile che…”
  3. Phrases that express a doubt, such as, “I don’t know…” or “Non so che…”
  4. Phrases that express suspicion, such as, ” I suspect that…” or “Sospetto che…”
  5. Phrases that express uncertainty, such as, “It seems to me…” or “Mi sembra che…” and ” To wonder if…” or “Chiedersi se… “
  6. Impersonal verbs followed by the conjunction che, such as, “Basta che…” “It is enough that,” or “Si dice che…” “They say that…
  7. Phrases that use the verbs volere, desiderare, chiedere, esigere when the subject in the introductory phrase is not the same as the subject in the clause that follows. In this situation, these verbs will be followed by che.
  8. Phrases that use the verbs piacere and dispiacere when the subject in the introductory phrase is not the same as the subject in the clause that follows. In this situation, these verbs will be followed by che.
  9. Phrases that express feelings (any emotion, fear, surprise) and use the pattern: [avere, essere, or augurarsi verb + di + infinitive verb]. When the subject in the introductory phrase is not the same as the subject in the clause that follows, the pattern changes to: [avere, essere, or augurarsi verb + che + subjunctive verb].
  10. Sentences that begin with words that end in –ché, or complex conjunctions that end with che: affinché, perché (so as, so that, in order that), purché (as long as, provided that, only if)**, a meno che, senza che (unless), può darsi che (it may be possible that, possibly, maybe), prima che (before that). Also the many words that mean although/even though, one of which ends in -che: benché (also sebenne, malgrado, nonostante).***
  11. Sentences that begin with adjectives or pronouns that include the idea of any in a description of a person, place or thing: qualsiasi, qualunque (any), chiunque (whoever), dovunque (anywhere).
  12. Sentences that begin with adjectives or pronouns that include the idea of nothing or only in a description of a person, place, or thing: niente che, nulla che (nothing that), nessuno che (nobody that), l’unico, il solo, a che (the only one that).

Hypothetical Phrases: Phrases that begin with se (if) in certain situations. Phrases that begin with come se (as if), magari (if only) and ammesso che (assuming that).

As usual, there are summary tables in the next section that shows how to use these phrases. The present tense is in the left columns. The imperfetto past tense has been chosen for the right columns, although in some situations, the passatto prossimo past tense can be used as well. We will then present examples for the past tense.

Points to remember about the subjunctive mood:

In Italian, the introductory phrases that take the subjunctive mood (those that trigger doubt, uncertainty, desire, or a feeling) usually end with a linking word, also known as a conjunction, which will be che. In this situation, che means that. The clause that follows our introductory phrase will then describe what the uncertainty is about.

We now see from Group 9 that some introductory words or phrases already have -ché or che integrated into the word itself. In these cases, che is not repeated.

*When the speaker in the introductory phrase will carry out the action in the phrase to follow, Italian will use the following construction to link the phrases for credere, pensare, and sperare : di + infinitive verb. Example: Penso di andare a Roma domani. = I think I will go to Rome tomorrow. (Use pensare a when thinking ABOUT something or someone.)

**solo se also means only if but does NOT take the subjunctive mode.

*** anche se also means even though/if but does NOT take the subjunctive mode.

How to Express One’s Feelings with “Di” and “Che” and the Italian Subjunctive Mood – Present Tense

Phrases Used to Express Feelings with “Di” in Italian

When expressing one’s feelings in Italian in the first person (io conjugation), many common Italian expressions are followed by di (of). In this case, when di is followed by another verb, the verb in the second phrase will be in the infinitive tense (if you remember, infinitive verbs end in -are, -ere, -ire, and translate as “to…”). Below are some examples of these phrases, along with example sentences, adapted from Chapter 7 of the Conversational Italian for Travelers textbook.

avere bisogno di	to have need of	Ho bisogno di… riposare.

avere paura di	to be afraid/have fear of	Ho paura di… guidare.

avere voglia di	to feel like	Ho voglia di… mangiare una pizza.

essere certo di	to be certain of	Sono certo(a) di… ricordare il tuo nome.

essere sicuro di	to be certain of	Sono sicuro(a) di… ricordare questo posto.

essere felice di	to be happy to	Sono felice di… incontrare mio cugino oggi.

essere fortunato di	to be lucky to	Sono fortunato(a) di… mangiare questa cena.

essere libero di	to be free to	Sono libero(a) di… viaggiare.

essere stanco di	to be tired of	Sono stanco(a) di… lavorare.

temere di…	to be afraid of	Temo di… essere in ritardo.

augurarsi di…	to wish/to hope (of)	Mi auguro di… fare una buona vacanza.

How to Express One’s Feelings with “Di” and “Che” and the Italian Subjunctive Mood – Past Tense

Phrases Used to Express Feelings with “Che” and the Imperfetto Subjunctive Mood

Some of the expressions listed in the following table are most commonly used with the same subject for the second phrase. As noted in our previous discussions, these phrases will be followed with “di” and an infinitive verb. They are reprinted here to correspond with the previous table, followed by an asterisk and an explanation in parentheses.

For most of the expressions of feeling that we have been talking about, though, it is possible to express a feeling that the speaker (io) has regarding another person or people. In this case, then, these expressions must be followed by che, and the subjunctive mood should be used for the verb in the second phrase.

The above rule for using che + subjunctive applies whether the introductory phrase is in the present tense or the past tense.
However, if the introductory verb is in the past tense, the imperfetto subjunctive form is the form to follow!

In our example table, we will illustrate this by following the Italian phrases in which the subjects can be different with ...che tu, which we know means …that you, although of course, this rule follows no matter which subject pronoun we use.

Phrases Used to Express Feelings with “Che” and the Imperfetto Subjunctive Mode

Present Tense Subjunctive Phrase Group 8		Past Tense Subjunctive Phrase Group 8
Ho bisogno… che tu	I need… that you* (This expression is not commonly used in Italian to tell another person what needs to be done; voglio* che is used instead.)	Avevo bisogno… che tu	I needed… that you* (This expression is not commonly used in Italian to tell another person what needs to be done; volevo* che is used instead.)

Ho paura… che tu	I am afraid… that you	Avevo paura… che tu	I was afraid… that you

Ho voglia di… *	I feel like… * *(always used with the same subject +di in both phrases)	Avevo voglia… *	I felt like…* *(always used with the same subject + di in both phrases)

Non sono certo(a)… che tu	I am not certain… that you	Non ero certo… che tu	I was not certain… that you

Non sono sicuro(a)… che tu	I am not certain… that you	Non ero sicuro… che tu	I was not certain… that you

Sono felice… che tu	I am happy… that you	Ero felice… che tu	I was happy… that you

Sono fortunato(a)… che tu	I am happy… that you	Ero fortunato(a)… che tu	I was fortunate… that you

Sono libero(a) di… *	I am free… * *(always used with the same subject +di in both phrases)	Ero libero(a)… *	I was free… * *(always used with the same subject +di in both phrases)

Sono stanco(a) di…	I am tired…* *(always used with the same subject +di in both phrases)	Ero stanco(a)… *	I was tired…* *(always used with the same subject +di in both phrases)

Temo… che tu	I am afraid… that you	Temevo… che tu	I was afraid… that you

Mi auguro… che tu	I hope… that you	Mi auguravo… che tu	I hoped… that you

Idiomatic Use of the Italian Subjunctive Mood

The final group of words in the table below take the subjunctive mood when used to start a sentence. These conjunctions, adjectives, and pronouns imply that a second phrase is necessary to complete the sentence.

The above rule for using che + subjunctive applies whether the introductory phrase is in the present tense or the past tense.
However, if the introductory verb is the past tense, the imperfetto subjunctive form is the form to follow!

Only the most commonly used have been given in the table. For a more complete list, see the list in the first section of this blog.

Phrases Used to Introduce the Subjunctive Mood—Idiomatic

Present Tense Subjunctive Phrase Groups 9, 10, 11
Prima che	Before that ( Prima che is used to mean “before that” and followed by the subjunctive when the subject in the first phrase is different from the subject in the second phrase; use Prima di + infinitive verb when the subject of both phrases is the same.)
Benché, Sebbene	Although, Even though, If
Può darsi che	It may be possible that, Possibly, Maybe
Affinché	So as, So that, In order that
Perché	So that (Perché is only used in the subjunctive mood when it means “so that.” Other meanings of perché include “why” and “because,” and in these cases, the subjunctive mood is not used.)
Purché	As long as, Provided that, Only if

Finally, our usual reminder:

DO NOT USE THE SUBJUNCTIVE WITH THE FOLLOWING THREE PHRASES!

Forse = Perhaps

Per me = For me

Secondo me = According to me

The above may seem like exceptions to the rule, but perhaps… because these phrases already express doubt or your personal opinion… in the Italian way of thinking, it would be redundant to use these phrases along with the subjunctive!

And, two more phrases we can now add that DO NOT take the subjunctive mood:

Solo se = Only if

Anche se = Even though/if

Speak Italian: Imperfetto Subjunctive Mood (Part 3)

How to Conjugate the Imperfetto Subjunctive Mood for -are, -ere, and -ire Verbs

Luckily, there are only a few irregular stem forms to learn for the imperfetto subjunctive mood, making it an easier tense to learn than the present, future, and conditional tenses.

Also, the imperfetto subjunctive mood endings are always regular and will be the same for all three conjugations!

To change any regular infinitive verb into the imperfetto subjunctive mood, first drop the final -re, from our infinitive -are, -ere, and -ire verbs to create the stem.

This will create stems that end in the letters –a for the –are verbs, -e for the –ere verbs, and–i for the –ire verbs. Then add the endings given in the first table below to the stem that has been created. Examples for each verb type are given in the second table below.*

The word che is included in parentheses in the subject pronoun column as a reminder that these verb forms typically are used with the conjunction che. Also, use the subject pronoun in your sentence after che for clarity, since the endings for the singular forms are all the same!

Practice the subjunctive verbs out loud by saying che, the subject pronoun and then the correct verb form that follows!

Subjunctive Mood – Imperfetto Endings

io	ssi
tu	ssi
Lei/lei/lui	sse

noi	ssimo
voi	ste
loro	ssero

The following table will put together our stems with our imperfetto subjunctive mood endings. A few notes about this:

When pronouncing the imperfetto subjunctive mood verbs, the stress will always be on the syllable that begins with the last two letters of the stem and will incorporate one –s letter from the ending. (Remember the rule for Italian double consonants: one consonant will go with the syllable before and the second with the syllable after, in effect also stressing the double consonant itself.) The stressed syllables are underlined in our example table below.

Imperfetto Subjunctive Mood – Example Verb Conjugations

	Abitare(to live) (lived/were living)	Vedere(to see) (saw/had seen)	Finire(to finish) (finished/were finishing)
(che) io	abitassi	vedessi	finissi
(che) tu	abitassi	vedessi	finissi
(che) Lei/lei/lui	abitasse	vedesse	finisse

(che) noi	abitassimo	vedessimo	finissimo
(che) voi	abitaste	vedeste	finiste
(che) loro	abitassero	vedessero	finissero

How to Conjugate the Italian Subjunctive Mood Imperfetto Tense for the Modal Verbs

Here are the Italian imperfetto subjunctive forms for the modal verbs. If you remember, modal verbs are auxiliary verbs that are also called “helping verbs.” These verbs are often used in the subjunctive mood in written and spoken Italian. As you no doubt recall, these three helping verbs give additional information about the main verb in the phrase. In the subjunctive mood, volere can also be translated as “to need.”

Dovere – to have to/must – Imperfetto Subjunctive Mood

*(che)* io	dovessi	I had to
*(che)* tu	dovessi	you (familiar) had to
*(che)* Lei *(che)* lei/lui	dovesse	you (polite) had to she/he had to

*(che)* noi	dovessimo	we had to
*(che)* voi	doveste	you all had to
*(che)* loro	dovessero	they had to

Potere – to be able (to)/can – Imperfetto Subjunctive Mood

*che)* io	potessi	I was able to/could
*(che)* tu	potessi	you (familiar) were able to/could
*(che)* Lei *(che)* lei/lui	potesse	you (polite) were able to/could she/he was able to/could

*(che)* noi	potessimo	we were able to/could
*(che)* voi	poteste	you all were able to/could
*(che)* loro	potessero	they were able to/could

Volere – to want/ to need – Imperfetto Subjunctive mode

*(che)* io	volessi	I wanted/needed
*(che)* tu	volessi	you (familiar) wanted/needed
*(che)* Lei *(che)* lei/lui	volesse	you (polite) wanted/needed she/he wanted/needed

*(che)* noi	volessimo	we wanted/needed
*(che)* voi	voleste	you all wanted/needed
*(che)* loro	volessero	they wanted/needed

The Imperfetto Subjunctive Mood

Commonly Used Regular and Irregular Verbs

A review from the second blog in this series:

Luckily, most verbs are regular in the imperfetto subjunctive mood. So, there are many, many more regular than irregular verbs! Below are some commonly used regular verbs, some of which are irregular in the present tense and most other tenses! Practice saying them out loud and listen to how each conjugated verb sounds.

Imperfetto Subjunctive Mood Conjugations – Commonly Used Regular Verbs

	Andare(to go) (went/were going)	Sapere (to know)(knew/had known)	Venire(to come) (came/had come)	Vivere(to live) (lived/were living)
io	andassi	sapessi	venissi	vivessi
tu	andassi	sapessi	venissi	vivessi
Lei/lei/lui	andasse	sapesse	venisse	vivesse

noi	andassimo	sapessimo	venissimo	vivessimo
voi	andaste	sapeste	veniste	viveste
loro	andassero	sapessero	venissero	vivessero

The Imperfetto Subjunctive Mood

Commonly Used Irregular Verbs

There are a few important irregular verbs to know in the imperfetto subjunctive mood. You will find them in the tables below. Practice saying them out loud and listen to how each conjugated verb sounds.

Fare – to do/make – Imperfetto Subjunctive Mood

io	facessi	I did/ made
tu	facessi	you (familiar) did/made
Leilei/lui	facesse	you (polite) did/madeshe/he did/made

noi	facessimo	we did/made
voi	faceste	you all did/made
loro	facessero	they did/made

Dare – to give – Imperfetto Subjunctive Mood

io	dessi	I gave
tu	dessi	you (familiar) gave
Leilei/lui	desse	you (polite) gaveshe/he gave

noi	dessimo	we gave
voi	deste	you all gave
loro	dessero	they gave

Dire – to say/tell – Imperfetto Subjunctive Mood

io	dicessi	I said/told
tu	dicessi	you (familiar) said/told
Leilei/lui	dicesse	you (polite) said/toldshe/he said/told

noi	dicessimo	we said/told
voi	diceste	you all said/told
loro	dicessero	they said/told

How to Conjugate Italian Verbs “Essere,” “Avere,” and “Stare” in the Imperfetto Subjunctive Mood

A review from the first blog in this series:

In the tables below are the imperfetto subjunctive forms for the Italian auxiliary verbs avere, stare, and essere, which are often used in the subjunctive mood in written and spoken Italian. These are important verbs to commit to memory!

You will notice that avere has a regular conjugation in the imperfetto subjunctive mood, whereas essere and stare have an irregular conjugation.

Avere—to have—Imperfetto Subjunctive Mood

*(che)* io	avessi	I had
*(che)* tu	avessi	you (familiar) had
*(che)* Lei (che) lei/lui	avesse	you (polite) had she/he had

*(che)* noi	avessimo	we had
*(che)* voi	aveste	you all had
*(che)* loro	avessero	they had

Essere—to be—Imperfetto Subjunctive Mood

*(che)* io	fossi	I were
*(che)* tu	fossi	you (familiar) were
*(che)* Lei *(che)* lei/lui	fosse	you (polite) were she/he were

*(che)* noi	fossimo	we were
*(che)* voi	foste	you all were
*(che)* loro	fossero	they were

Stare—to stay/be—Imperfetto Subjunctive Mood

*(che)* io	stessi	I stayed/were
*(che)* tu	stessi	you (familiar) stayed/were
*(che)* Lei *(che)* lei/lui	stesse	you (polite) stayed/were she/he stayed/were

*(che)* noi	stessimo	we stayed/were
*(che)* voi	steste	you all stayed/were
*(che)* loro	stessero	they stayed/were

The “Trapassato” Subjunctive Mood

“Essere” or “Avere” + Past Participle

To form the trapassato subjunctive mood to describe an event that started and was completed in the past, simply use either essere or avere in the imperfetto conjugation, and add the past participle of the verb.

In English, any event that started and was completed in the past simply needs “had” inserted in front of the past participle! This is a bit easier than Italian, but with a little practice, you will get used to the Italian in no time!

Visit our blog about Italian hypothetical phrases in the past tense (Italian Subjunctive Part 5) for practice using this verb form with impossible hypothetical sentences.

*******************************

Below are the trapassato subjunctive mood conjugations for the auxiliary verbs avere and essere, using the past participles for two Italian verbs that are commonly used in this tense – fare and andare.

Remember that action verbs of direction, reflexive verbs, other verbs of growing and changing, and piacere all take essere as a helping verb when making these compound verbs. All other verbs take avere. If you need a review of the use of helping verbs for the Italian past tense, please refer to our blog Speak Italian: A Story About… Love!

You will notice that avere has a regular conjugation in the imperfetto subjunctive mood, whereas essere has an irregular conjugation. The past participle for fare (fatto) is irregular, but that of andare (andato) is regular. If you need a refresher on how to form past participles, please refer to our blog Speak Italian: A Story About… Love!

In hypothetical clauses, because the trapassato subjunctive mood is introduced by se, (se) is included in the subject pronoun column as a reminder. When conjugating these verbs, say “se” before the subject pronoun and each verb form to reinforce this way of thinking!

Avere (to have) + Fare (to do/make) — Trapassato Subjunctive Mood

*(se)* io	avessi + fatto	I had + made/done
*(se)* tu	avessi + fatto	you (familiar) had + made/done
*(se)* Lei (se) lei/lui	avesse + fatto	you (polite) had + made/done she/he had + made/done

*(se)* noi	avessimo + fatto	we had + made/done
*(se)* voi	aveste + fatto	you all had + made/done
*(se)* loro	avessero + fatto	they had + made/done

Essere (to be) + Andare (to go) — Trapassato Subjunctive Mood

*(se)* io	fossi + andato(a)	I had + gone
*(se)* tu	fossi + andato(a)	you (familiar) had + gone
*(se)* Lei *(se)* lei/lui	fosse + andato(a)	you (polite) had + gone she/he had + gone

*(se)* noi	fossimo + andati(e)	we had + gone
*(se)* voi	foste + andati(e)	you all had + gone
*(se)* loro	fossero + andati(e)	they had + gone

Speak Italian: How to Use the Italian Subjunctive Mood (Part 3)

Example Phrases Using the Imperfetto Subjunctive Mood in the Past Tense

To follow are some examples of how the Italian subjunctive mood in the past tense might be used in conversation during daily life.

Notice that English sentence structure differs from Italian in most of these sentences. We can make a similar sentence in English as in Italian, but it would be considered an “awkward” sentence.

The biggest difference is that we English speakers do not use the subjunctive form, whether or not the subject in the two phrases is the same or different. Also, we often leave out the word “that” from our sentences that contain two phrases. But, the Italian word for “that,” “che,” is not an option when linking two Italian phrases – except if the introductory word itself ends in -che.

For the translations, the Italian sentence structure is given first for some examples to help us to think in Italian. The correct English is in bold.

We will use the example introductory phrases from earlier in this section. How many more combinations can you think of?

*Ho voluto che tu cucinassi* una cena speciale per la festa ieri sera.**	I wanted that you cook a special dinner for the party tonight. = *I wanted you to cook* a special dinner for the party last night.**

*Ieri sera, ho avuto paura che lui guidassi* troppo veloce.**	Last night, I was afraid that he drove too fast. = *Last night, I was afraid, since he drove* too fast.**

*Non ero certo che Lei ricordasse* quello giorno.**	*I was not certain that you remembered* that day.**

*Non ero sicuro che noi* ricordassimo il posto corretto.**	*I was not sure that we remembered* the right place.**

*Sono stato felice che voi abbiate incontrato* mio cugino oggi.**	I was happy that you all have met my cousin today.= *I was happy you all met* my cousin today.**
*Sono stata fortunata che voi abbiate mangiato* con me ieri sera per il mio compleanno.**	I was lucky that you all ate with me last night for my birthday.= *I was lucky you all ate* with me last night for my birthday.**

Temavo che loro non fossero persone perbene.

I was afraid that they were not good people.

Mi auguravo che loro facessero una buona vacanza.

I was hoping that they had a good vacation. =

I was hoping they had a good vacation.

The Italian Subjunctive Mood: Examples for Idiomatic Phrases and Modal Verbs

Here are some examples for the introductory phrases “before that” and “after that,” which, as we have discussed in the earlier section, should take the imperfetto subjunctive mood when the reference is to the past.

These phrases seem to be most useful in situations in which we talk about plans people would have liked to or had made for themselves or others, and therefore helping verbs many times also come into play.

*Lei ha dovuto prepare molto bene i tuoi documenti prima che tu dovessi andare* al lavoro.**	She had to prepare your documents very well before (that) you had to come to work. = She had to prepare your documents very well before you had to go to work.

*Prima che mio figlio potesse andare* dove ha voluto, io sono dovuto venire a casa.**	Before (that) my son could go where he wanted to, I had to go home. = Before my son could go where he wanted to, I had to come home.

*Prima che noi dovessimo partire per* Roma, è stato buono che avete riposato un po’ in campagna.**	Before (that) we had to leave for Rome, it was good that you all rested a little bit in the country. = Before we had to leave for Rome, it was good that you all rested a little bit in the country.

Prima che voi poteste andare a trovare* i vostri parenti in America, tuo padre ha dovuto guadagnare un sacco di soldi.**	Before (that) you all could visit your relatives in America, your father had to make a lot of money. = Before you all could visit your relatives in America, your father had to make a lot of money.

Il mio assistente ha dovuto portarli al riunione prima che loro possano mangiare la cena.	My assistant had to bring them to the meeting before (that) they could eat dinner. = My assistant had to bring them to the meeting before they could eat dinner.

* andare a trovare is an idiomatic expression that means “to go to visit (someone).” Visitare is used when going to visit a place.

** un sacco di soldi is an idiomatic expression that means “a lot of money.”

The Italian Subjunctive Mood: Examples for Idiomatic Phrases

The final group of words that take the subjunctive mood on an idiomatic basis imply that a second phrase is necessary to complete the sentence. These are essential phrases to remember if we want to express complex thoughts in Italian. Here are some examples. How many more can you think of?

*Benché io volessi andare* in Italia, non è stato possibile l’anno scorso.**	*Although I wanted to go* to Italy, it was not possible last year.**

*Sebbene lui volesse andare* all’università, non ha ricevuto voti abastanza buoni al liceo.**	*Although he wanted to go* to college, he did not get good enough grades in high school.**

*Sebbene noi volessimo viaggiare, abbiamo dovuto lavorare nel’ristorante di famiglia per molti anni.*	*Though we wanted to travel,* we had to work in the family restaurant for many years.**

*Perché la crostata* fosse fatto buona, hai dovuto usare le fragole fresche.**	So that the pie was made well, she had to use fresh strawberries. = She had to use fresh strawberries so that the pie was made well.

Sono venuto alla festa, purché( lui non ci fosse.	I agreed to come to the party, provided that he was not (going to be) there. = *I agreed to come to the party, provided that he was not* going to be there.**

Kathryn Occhipinti, MD, is the author of the
Conversational Italian for Travelers series of books and a teacher of Italian for travelers to Italy in the Peoria and Chicago area.
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Imperfetto Subjunctive Mood Past Tense (Part 3): Speak Italian!

Imperfetto Subjunctive for Past Tense (Part 2): Speak Italian!

November 14, 2018Let's Learn Italian!Chiedere subjunctive, Conversational Italian, desiderare subjunctive, dispiacere subjunctive, Esigere subjuctive, imperfetto, Imperfetto subjunctive, Italian conversation, Italian Imperfetto Tense, Italian Language, Italian past tense subjunctive, Italian Subjunctive, Italian Subjunctive Mode, Italian subjunctive mood, learn Italian, Piacere subjunctive, Speak Italian, Stella Lucente, Subjunctive past in Italian, Volere subjunctiveKathryn Occhipinti

Imperfetto Subjunctive for Past Tense (Part 2): Speak Italian!

The imperfetto subjunctive mood is easy to conjugate for use with the Italian past tense, but tricky to use!

Speak Italian: How to Use the Imperfetto Subjunctive Mood

Can you speak Italian? By now, many of you have passed the beginning stages of learning to speak Italian and can read and comprehend quite a bit of the Italian language. Meraviglioso!

But have you tried to take the next step to speak Italian fluently? Can you use the imperfetto subjunctive mood when you are speaking in the past tense? To express complex feelings in Italian correctly, it is important to use the Italian subjunctive mood. Using the subjunctive mood is difficult for English speakers, as we only rarely use this tense in English, and this is something that I am always working on! This is the second blog in the “Speak Italian” series that will focus on how to conjugate and use the imperfetto subjunctive mood, or “il congiuntivo” for speaking in the past tense.

Let’s take that giant step from simple beginning sentences to more complex and fluid sentences in Italian by using the imperfetto subjunctive mood while speaking in the past tense. In this segment, we will discuss when volere, desiderare, piacere, and dispiacere take the subjunctive mood.

We will also learn the conjugation of the imperfetto subjunctive mood for the -are, -ere, and -ire verbs and the commonly used irregular verbs andare, dare, dire, fare, sapere, and venire. Example sentences will follow!

Speak Italian: How to Use the Imperfetto Subjunctive Mood

In each blog in the “Speak Italian” series about the imperfetto subjunctive mood (“il congiuntivo”), we will first present phrases in the past tense that take the impefetto subjunctive mood.

Then, we will review how to conjugate the imperfetto subjunctive mood.

Finally, we will present common phrases from daily life that take the imperfetto subjunctive mood.

Remember these examples as “anchors” in your knowledge for when you must speak Italian and try out the imperfetto subjunctive mood in your next Italian conversation!

Enjoy the 2nd blog in this series, “Imperfetto Subjunctive for Past Tense (Part 2): Speak Italian!”
—Kathryn Occhipinti

Speak Italian: How to Use the Imperfetto Subjunctive Mood (Part 2)

Once Again… Italian Phrases That Take the Imperfetto Subjunctive Mood

Italian has a subjunctive mood that is used to express beliefs, thoughts, or hopes with the verbs credere, pensare, and sperare.

The subjunctive mood is also said to “open up” a conversation to discussion about a particular topic by expressing doubt, uncertainty, desire, or a feeling.

In our first blog about the imperfetto subjunctive mood, we learned that these initial phrases fall into several groups. We discussed Groups 1 through Group 6, which are given below for review.

To follow in this blog is an explanation of several more phrases that can be used to introduce the imperfetto subjunctive mood, which we have added into our original list as Group 7 and Group 8.

Groups 1-8: “Noun Clauses”

1. Phrases that use the verbs credere (to believe), pensare (to think), and sperare (to hope). These verbs use the pattern: [verb + di + infinitive verb] to describe the beliefs, thoughts, or hopes that one has. When the subject in the introductory phrase is not the same as the subject in the subjunctive clause that follows, the pattern changes to: [verb + che + subjunctive verb].*
2. Impersonal constructions that begin with, “It is…” such as, “È possibile che…”
3. Phrases that express a doubt, such as, “I don’t know…” or “Non so che…”
4. Phrases that express suspicion, such as, ” I suspect that…” or “Sospetto che…”
5. Phrases that express uncertainty, such as, “It seems to me…” or “Mi sembra che…” and ” To wonder if…” or “Chiedersi se… “
6. Impersonal verbs followed by the conjunction che, such as, “Basta che…” “It is enough that,” or “Si dice che…” “They say that…
7. Phrases that use the verbs volere, desiderare, chiedere, esigere when the subject in the introductory phrase is not the same as the subject in the clause that follows. In this situation, these verbs will be followed by che.
8. Phrases that use the verbs piacere and dispiacere when the subject in the introductory phrase is not the same as the subject in the clause that follows. In this situation, these verbs will be followed by che.

As usual, there is a summary table in the next section that shows how to use these phrases. The present and present conditional tense is in the left columns, with the passatto prossimo and the imperfetto past tenses in the right columns. We will then present examples for the past tense.

Points to remember about the subjunctive mood:

How to Use the Imperfetto Subjunctive Mood with
Volere and Desiderare

When expressing one’s desire in Italian in the first person (io conjugation), voglio/vorrei and desidero are used in similar situations to mean I want and I would like. In this case, these helping verbs are followed directly by another verb that is in the infinitive tense (if you remember, infinitive verbs end in -are, -ere, -ire and translate as “to…”). Of course, these verbs can also be followed by a noun, the “object of our desire”!

Volere and desiderare are covered in detail in Chapter 4 of our textbook, Conversational Italian for Travelers, if you would like a review. Below are some simple examples:

Voglio imparare l’italiano. I want to learn Italian.

Vorrei viaggiare in Italia. I would like to travel to Italy.

Desidero andare al cinema. I want to go to the movies.

But when these same verbs—voglio/vorrei and desidero—are used to express a desire for something that the speaker in the first person (io) wants another person to do, then these helping verbs must be followed by che, and then the subjunctive mood should be used for the verb in the next phrase.

In the same way, I can ask that someone do something using the verb chiedere or insist that they do it with the verb esigere. But just asking someone else or even insisting does not mean that it will be done (as those of us who have children know). So, in these cases as well, the verbs chiedere and esigere will be followed by the conjunction che and the next phrase will use a verb in the subjunctive form.

The above rule for using che + subjunctive applies whether the introductory phrase is in the present tense or the past tense.*
However, if the introductory verb is in the past tense, the imperfetto subjunctive form is the form to follow!

*Be careful with chiedere and esigere, though, when using the passato prossimo past tense, since their past participles are irregular. For chiedere, the past participle is chiesto and for esigere, the past participle is esatto.

Esatto is, of course, also used as an adjective, meaning “exact” or “precise” as well as an interjection with the meaning of “Exactly!”

How to Use the Imperfetto Subjunctive Mood with
Piacere and Dispiacere

The verb forms mi piace, mi piacerrebbe and mi dispiace, mi dispiaccerebbe follow the same rule given for the verbs in Group 6 we just discussed: when the verb that follows these introductory phrases refers to the speaker (io form), then a verb in the infinitive form follows directly. When the verb that follows refers to someone else, che is used as a link to a verb in the subjunctive mood in the second clause.

The above rule for using che + subjunctive applies whether the introductory phrase is in the present tense or the past tense.
However, if if the introductory verb is in the past tense, the imperfetto subjunctive form is the form to follow!

In our example table that follows, we will illustrate the use of che followed by a different speaker from the introductory phrase with ...che tu. This conjunction means …that you. Of course, we can replace tu with any of the other subject pronouns, and then the phrases would be: ….che Lei, che lei, che lui, che noi, che voi, or che loro.

Phrases Used to Introduce the Subjunctive Mood with Volere, Desiderare, Piacere, Dispiacere

Present Tense & Conditional Tense Subjunctive Phrases Groups 6 and 7		Past Tense & Past Conditional Tense Subjunctive Phrases Groups 6 and 7

Voglio… che tu	I want… that you	Volevo… che tu Ho voluto… che tu	I wanted… that you
Vorrei… che tu	I would like… that you	Volevo… che tu Ho voluto… che tu	I wanted… that you
Desidero… che tu Chiedo... che tu Esigo… che tu	I want… that you I ask… that you I insist... that you	Desideravo… che tu Chiedevo… che tu Esigevo… che tu Ho desiderato… che tu Ho chiesto… che tu Ho esatto… che tu	I wanted… that you I asked... that you I insisted… that you
Mi piace… che tu	I like… that you	Mi piaceva… che tu Mi sono piaciuto(a)… che tu	I liked… that you
Mi dispiace… che tu	I am sorry… that you	Mi dispiaceva… che tu Mi sono dispiaciuto(a)… che tu	I was sorry… that you
Mi piacerebbe… che tu	I would like… that you	Mi sarebbe piaciuto(a)… che tu	I would have liked… that you
Mi dispiacerebbe… che tu	I don’t mind… that you	Mi sarebbe dispiaciuto(a)… che tu	I didn’t mind… that you

Finally, a word of caution:

DO NOT USE THE SUBJUNCTIVE WITH THE FOLLOWING THREE PHRASES!

Forse = Perhaps

Per me = For me

Secondo me = According to me

Speak Italian: Imperfetto Subjunctive Mood (Part 2)

How to Conjugate the Imperfetto Subjunctive Mood for -are, -ere, and -ire Verbs

Luckily, there are only a few irregular stem forms to learn for the imperfetto subjunctive mood, making it an easier tense to learn than the present, future, and conditional tenses.

Also, the imperfetto subjunctive mood endings are always regular and will be the same for all three conjugations!

To change any regular infinitive verb into the imperfetto subjunctive mood, first drop the final -re, from our infinitive -are, -ere, and -ire verbs to create the stem.

Practice the subjunctive verbs out loud by saying che, the subject pronoun and then the correct verb form that follows!

Subjunctive Mood – Imperfetto Endings

io	ssi
tu	ssi
Lei/lei/lui	sse

noi	ssimo
voi	ste
loro	ssero

The following table will put together our stems with our imperfetto subjunctive mood endings. A few notes about this:

Imperfetto Subjunctive Mood – Example Verb Conjugations

	Abitare(to live) (lived/were living)	Vedere(to see) (saw/had seen)	Finire(to finish) (finished/were finishing)
(che) io	abitassi	vedessi	finissi
(che) tu	abitassi	vedessi	finissi
(che) Lei/lei/lui	abitasse	vedesse	finisse

(che) noi	abitassimo	vedessimo	finissimo
(che) voi	abitaste	vedeste	finiste
(che) loro	abitassero	vedessero	finissero

The Imperfetto Subjunctive Mood

Commonly Used Regular Verbs

Luckily, most verbs are regular in the imperfetto subjunctive mood. So, there are many, many more regular than irregular verbs!

Below are some commonly used regular verbs, some of which are irregular in the present tense and most other tenses! Practice saying them out loud and listen to how each conjugated verb sounds.

Imperfetto Subjunctive Mood Conjugations – Commonly Used Regular Verbs

	Andare(to go) (went/were going)	Sapere (to know)(knew/had known)	Venire(to come) (came/had come)	Vivere(to live) (lived/were living)
io	andassi	sapessi	venissi	vivessi
tu	andassi	sapessi	venissi	vivessi
Lei/lei/lui	andasse	sapesse	venisse	vivesse

noi	andassimo	sapessimo	venissimo	vivessimo
voi	andaste	sapeste	veniste	viveste
loro	andassero	sapessero	venissero	vivessero

The Imperfetto Subjunctive Mood

Commonly Used Irregular Verbs

Fare – to do/make – Imperfetto Subjunctive Mood

io	facessi	I did/ made
tu	facessi	you (familiar) did/made
Leilei/lui	facesse	you (polite) did/madeshe/he did/made

noi	facessimo	we did/made
voi	faceste	you all did/made
loro	facessero	they did/made

Dare – to give – Imperfetto Subjunctive Mood

io	dessi	I gave
tu	dessi	you (familiar) gave
Leilei/lui	desse	you (polite) gaveshe/he gave

noi	dessimo	we gave
voi	deste	you all gave
loro	dessero	they gave

Dire – to say/tell – Imperfetto Subjunctive Mood

io	dicessi	I said/told
tu	dicessi	you (familiar) said/told
Leilei/lui	dicesse	you (polite) said/toldshe/he said/told

noi	dicessimo	we said/told
voi	diceste	you all said/told
loro	dicessero	they said/told

Speak Italian: How to Use the Imperfetto Subjunctive Mood (Part 2)

Example Phrases Using the Imperfetto Subjunctive Mood with the Past Tense

To follow are some examples of how the Italian subjunctive mood in the past tense might be used in conversation during daily life.

Notice that English sentence structure differs from Italian in most of these sentences. We can make a similar sentence in English as in Italian, but it would be considered an “awkward” sentence.

The biggest difference is that we English speakers do not use the subjunctive form, whether or not the subject in the two phrases is the same or different. Also, we often leave out the word “that” from our sentences that contain two phrases. But, as mentioned previously, the Italian word for “that,” “che,” is not an option when linking two Italian phrases!

For the translations, the Italian sentence structure is given first in italics to help us to think in Italian. The correct English is in bold.

We will use the example introductory phrases and verbs from earlier in this section. Some sentences will work with both the imperfetto and passato prossimo introductory phrases if we add a time frame. In these cases, the passatto prossimo is given in blue.

You can see from our first example that use of the past subjunctive in the opening phrase really does allow one to make complex sentences. The first example has been completed to express a complex situation. Have fun expanding the sentences we have given. How many more combinations can you think of?

*Volevo che tu tornassi* presto.** Ho voluto che tu tornassi presto ieri sera perché dovevo parlarti di una cosa importante.	I wanted that you returned early. = I wanted you to have returned early. I wanted you to have returned early last night because I had to talk to you about something important.

*Volevo che lui vendessi* la macchina vecchia.** Ho voluto che lui vendesse la macchina vecchia l’anno scorso.	I wanted that he sold the old car (last year). = I wanted him to have sold the old car (last year).

*Desideravo che lei andasse* via.** Ho desiderato che lei andasse via ieri sera.	I wanted that she went away (last night). = I wanted her to have gone away (last night).

*Desideravo che Lei facesse* una bella torta per la festa.** Ho desiderato che Lei facesse una bella torta per la festa ieri.	I wanted that you made a nice cake for the party (yesterday). = I wanted you to have made a nice cake for the party (yesterday).

*Mi piaceva che tu venissi* a Roma ogni giorno.**	I liked (It was pleasing to me) that you came to Rome every day. = I liked (that fact that) you came to Rome every day.

*Mi dispiaceva che lui non sapesse* questa informazione.**	I am sorry (It made me sorry) that he doesn’t know this information. = I am sorry he doesn’t know this information.

*Volevo che noi* tornassimo presto.** Ho voluto che noi tornassimo presto ieri sera.	I wanted that we returned early (last night). = I wanted us to have returned early (last night).

*Volevo che noi vendessimo* la macchina vecchia.** Ho voluto che noi vendessimo la macchina vecchia l’anno scorso.	I wanted that we sold the old car (last year). = I wanted us to have sold the old car (last year).

*Desideravo che voi andaste* via.** Ho desiderato che voi andaste via ieri sera.	I wanted that you all went away (last night). = I wanted you all to have gone away (last night).

*Desidero che voi faceste* una bella torta per la festa.** Ho dovuto che voi faceste una bella torta per la festa ieri.	I wanted that you all made a nice cake for the party (yesterday). = I wanted you all to have made a nice cake for the party (yesterday).

*Mi piaceva che voi* veniste a Roma ogni giorno.**	I liked (It was pleasing to me)that you all came to Rome every day. = I liked (that fact that) you all came to Rome every day.

*Mi dispiace che voi* non sapeste questa informazione.**	I am sorry (It made me sorry) that you all don’t know this information. = I am sorry you all don’t know this information.

*Volevo che loro tornassero* presto.** Ho voluto che noi tornassero presto ieri sera.	I wanted that they returned early (last night). = I wanted them to have returned early (last night).

*Volevo che loro vendessero* la macchina vecchia.** Ho voluto che loro vendessero la macchina vecchia l’anno scorso.	I wanted that they sold the old car (last year). = I wanted them to have sold the old car (last year).

*Desideravo che loro andassero* via.** Ho desiderato che loro andassero via ieri sera.	I wanted that they went away (last night). = I wanted them to have gone away (last night).

*Desidero che loro facessero e* una bella torta per la festa.** Ho dovuto che loro facessero una bella torta per la festa ieri.	I wanted that they made a nice cake for the party (yesterday). = I wanted them to have made a nice cake for the party (yesterday).

*Mi piaceva che loro venissero* a Roma ogni giorno.**	I liked (It was pleasing to me) that they came to Rome every day. = I liked (that fact that) they came to Rome every day.

*Mi dispiace che loro non sapessero* questa informazione.**	I am sorry (It made me sorry) that they don’t know this information. = I am sorry they don’t know this information.

YouTube videos to learn Italian are available from © Stella Lucente, LLC.
Learn Conversational Italian.

Imperfetto Subjunctive for Past Tense (Part 2): Speak Italian!

Imperfetto Subjunctive for Past Tense (Part 1): Speak Italian!

September 10, 2018Let's Learn Italian!Avere imperfetto subjunctive, Conjunction che, Conversational Italian, Essere imperfetto subjunctive, Imperfetto Subjunctive Mode, Imperfetto subjunctive mood, Italian Language, Italian Subjunctive, Italian subjunctive mood, learn Italian, Learn Italian language, Speak Italian, Stare imperfetto subjunctive, Stella LucenteKathryn Occhipinti

Imperfetto Subjunctive for Past Tense (Part 1): Speak Italian!

The imperfetto subjunctive mood is easy to conjugate for use with the Italian past tense, but tricky to use!

Speak Italian: How to Use the Imperfetto Subjunctive Mood

Can you speak Italian? By now, many of you have passed the beginning stages of learning to speak Italian and can read and comprehend quite a bit of the Italian language. Meraviglioso!

But have you tried to take the next step to speak Italian fluently? Can you use the imperfetto subjunctive mood when you are speaking in the past tense? To express complex feelings in Italian correctly, it is important to use the Italian subjunctive mood. Using the subjunctive mood is difficult for English speakers, as we only rarely use this tense in English, and this is something that I am always working on! The next three blogs in the “Speak Italian” series will focus on how to conjugate and use the imperfetto Italian subjunctive mood, or “il congiuntivo” for speaking in the past tense.

Let’s take that giant step from simple beginning sentences to more complex and fluid sentences in Italian by using the imperfetto subjunctive mood while speaking in the past tense. In this segment, we will discuss the phrases that take the subjunctive mood when in the past tense and how to conjugate the imperfetto subjunctive mood for avere, essere and stare. Example sentences will follow!

Speak Italian: How to Use the Imperfetto Subjunctive Mood

Then, we will review how to conjugate the imperfetto subjunctive mood.

Finally, we will present common phrases from daily life that take the Italian subjunctive mood.

Remember these examples as “anchors” in your knowledge for when you must speak Italian and try out the imperfetto subjunctive mood in your next Italian conversation!

Enjoy the first blog in this series, “Imperfetto Subjunctive for Past Tense (Part 1): Speak Italian!”
—Kathryn Occhipinti

Speak Italian: How to Use the Imperfetto Subjunctive Mood (Part 1)

Introducing… Italian Phrases That Take the Imperfetto Subjunctive Mood

Italian has a subjunctive mood that is used to express beliefs, thoughts, or hopes with the verbs credere, pensare, and sperare.

The subjunctive mood is also said to “open up” a conversation to discussion about a particular topic by expressing doubt, uncertainty, desire, or a feeling.

These groups are listed below:

Groups 1-6: “Noun Clauses”

Phrases that use the verbs credere (to believe), pensare (to think), and sperare (to hope). These verbs use the pattern: [verb + di + infinitive verb] to describe the beliefs, thoughts, or hopes that one has. When the subject in the introductory phrase is not the same as the subject in the subjunctive clause that follows, the pattern changes to: [verb + che + subjunctive verb].*
Impersonal constructions that begin with, “It is…” such as, “È possibile che…”
Phrases that express a doubt, such as, “I don’t know…” or “Non so che…”
Phrases that express suspicion, such as, ” I suspect that…” or “Sospetto che…”
Phrases that express uncertainty, such as, “It seems to me…” or “Mi sembra che…” and ” To wonder if…” or “Chiedersi se… “
Impersonal verbs followed by the conjunction che, such as, “Basta che…” “It is enough that,” or “Si dice che…” “They say that…

*When the speaker in the introductory phrase will carry out the action in the phrase to follow, Italian will use the following construction to link the phrases for credere, pensare, and sperare : di + infinitive verb. Example: Penso di andare a Roma domani. = I think I will go to Rome tomorrow. (Use pensare a when thinking ABOUT something or someone.)

Points to remember about the subjunctive mood:

Note that the simple present or past tenses can also be used after the introductory phrases listed below, rather than the subjunctive mood, if you are speaking about a fact or something you believe to be true. This use will make perfect sense to the Italian listener, even when the subjective mood is otherwise commonly used.

Italian Phrases That Take the Imperfetto Subjunctive Mood

To follow is a (long) list of phrases that can be used to introduce the subjunctive mood, with examples from the passato prossimo past tense in the first two columns and the imperfetto past tense in the last two columns.

Basic translations are given in our tables, but remember that the imperfetto past tense can also be translated as “was… ing.” Therefore, “Speravo che” means, “I hoped,” and “I was hoping.” In the last section, we will then present examples for the past tense.

Passato Prossimo Past Subjunctive Phrase Groups 1 and 2		Imperfetto Past Subjunctive Phrase Groups 1 and 2
Ho creduto che	I believed that	Credevo che	I believed that
Ho pensato che	I thought that	Pensavo che	I thought that
Ho sperato che	I hoped that	Speravo che	I hoped that

È stato possibile che	It was possible that	Era possibile che	It was possible that
È stato probablile che	It was probable that	Era probabile che	It was probable that

È stato bene che	It was fine/good that	Era bene che	It was fine/good that
Sarebbe stato bene che	It would have been good that
È stato giusto che	It was right that	Era giusto che	It was right that
È stato meglio che	It was better that	Era meglio che	It was better that

È stato incredible che	It was incredible that	Era incredibile che	It was incredible that
È stato un peccato che	It was a shame that	Era un peccato che	It was a shame that
È stata una vergogna che	It was a disgrace that	Era una vergogna che	It was a disgrace that
È stato normale che	It was normal that	Era normale che	It was normal that

Passato Prossimo Past Subjunctive Phrase Groups 3, 4, and 5		Imperfetto Past Subjunctive Phrase Groups 3, 4, and 5
Non ho saputo che	I didn’t know that	Non sapevo che	I didn’t know that
Non ho saputo dove	I did’t know where	Non sapevo dove	I didn’t know where
Non sono stato sicuro che	I wasn’t sure that	Non ero sicuro che	I wasn’t sure that
Non ho avuto idea che	I had no idea that	Non avevo idea che	I had no idea that
		Non vedevo l’ora che…	I couldn’t wait that
Non c’è stato nulla che	There was nothing that	Non c’era nulla che	There was nothing that

*Mi è parso che**	It seems to me	Mi pareva che	It seemed to me
*Mi è sembrato che**	It seems to me	Mi sembrava che	It seemed to me
(Può darsi che only used in present tense)	(Perhaps)
Ho avuto l’impressione che	I had the impression that	Avevo l’impresione che	I had the impression that
Ho supposto che	I supposed that	Supponevo che	I supposed that
Ho immaginato che	I imagined that	Immaginavo che	I imagined that
Ho sospettato che	I suspected that	Sospettavo che	I suspected that
Ho dubitato che	I doubted that	Dubitavo che	I doubted that
Sono stato(a) convinto che	I was convinced that	Ero convinto che	I was convinced that
**(A meno che only used in present tense)**	(Unless)
Ho convenuto che	It was best that	Conveniva che	It was best that
È bastato(a) che	It was enough that	Bastava che	It was enough that
*(Malgrado che* only used in present tense)	(In spite of that)
Si è detto che	It was said that = One says/said that	Si diceva che	It was said that
Hanno detto che	They said that	Dicevano che	They said that
C’è stato bisognato che	It was necessary that = There was a need for that	Bisognava che	It was necessary that

* Use the phrases “Mi era parso che” and “Mi era sembrato che” when the phrase that follows will refer to another speaker’s actions. Do NOT change the ending of parso or sembrato. In this case, parso and sembrato refer to “it” in the phrase, “It seems to me that…” and so are invariable.

However, when saying, “It seems to me…” followed by an adjective that describes how the speaker himself feels about something, the last letter of parso and sembrato must match in gender and number what is being described.

So, to describe how a beautiful girl seemed to me, I would say:
Mi era parsa bella. – or – Mi era sembrata bella. = She seemed beautiful to me.

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Finally, a word of caution:

DO NOT USE THE SUBJUNCTIVE WITH THE FOLLOWING THREE PHRASES!

Forse = Perhaps

Per me = For me

Secondo me = According to me

Speak Italian: The Imperfetto Subjunctive Mood (Part 1)

How to Conjugate Italian Verbs “Essere,” “Avere,” and “Stare” in the Imperfetto Subjunctive Mood

Listed in the table below are the imperfetto subjunctive forms for the Italian auxiliary verbs avere, stare, and essere, which are often used with the conditional and past tenses in written and spoken Italian.

In our last two blogs, we showed how to use the imperfetto subjunctive tense with conditional verbs when we need to make hypothetical phrases in Italian. We saw that in these cases, the conjunction “se” for “if” introduces the dependent clause with the imperfetto subjunctive verb.

In this blog, we will focus on the use of the imperfetto subjunctive with the Italian past tense. In these cases, the conjunction che will introduce the dependent clause with the imperfetto subjunctive verb.

In our conjugation tables, che is included in parentheses in the subject pronoun column as a reminder that these verb forms are often introduced with the conjunction che. Also, make sure to include the subject pronoun in your sentence after che for clarity, since the singular forms are identical.

Practice the imperfetto subjunctive verbs out loud by saying che , the subject pronoun and then the correct verb form that follows!

Avere—to have—Imperfetto Subjunctive Mood

*(che)* io	avessi	I had
*(che)* tu	avessi	you (familiar) had
*(che)* Lei (che) lei/lui	avesse	you (polite) had she/he had

*(che)* noi	avessimo	we had
*(che)* voi	aveste	you all had
*(che)* loro	avessero	they had

Essere—to be—Imperfetto Subjunctive Mood

*(che)* io	fossi	I were
*(che)* tu	fossi	you (familiar) were
*(che)* Lei *(che)* lei/lui	fosse	you (polite) were she/he were

*(che)* noi	fossimo	we were
*(che)* voi	foste	you all were
*(che)* loro	fossero	they were

Stare—to stay/be—Imperfetto Subjunctive Mood

*(che)* io	stessi	I stayed/were
*(che)* tu	stessi	you (familiar) stayed/were
*(che)* Lei *(che)* lei/lui	stesse	you (polite) stayed/were she/he stayed/were

*(che)* noi	stessimo	we stayed/were
*(che)* voi	steste	you all stayed/were
*(che)* loro	stessero	they stayed/were

Speak Italian: How to Use the Imperfetto Subjunctive Mood (Part 1)

Example Phrases Using “Stare” in the Imperfetto Subjunctive Mood with the Past Tense

To follow are some examples of when the Italian subjunctive mood in the past tense might be used in conversation during daily life.

Notice that English uses the simple past tense to express the same idea, but we use our verbs a bit differently to make the subjunctive. In stead of saying “I was,” we use “I were.” Or, alternatively, “were + infinitive form or gerund. ”

English examples: “If I were to go…” or “If I were going…” Also, “had + past participle,” such as, “If I had seen…”

In our first blog about the subjunctive mood, we presented example sentences using stare (to stay/to be). We mentioned in our first blog that stare in the present subjunctive comes up very commonly in email greetings; especially if there has not been recent communication, it is customary to mention a hope that all is well with friends and family. We will present the same examples using a reference to the past to include in conversation.

With these particular phrases in which we talk about “hoping,” in most cases, the imperfetto form of the past tense will be used. However, if we “hope” for just one instant in time, with that time frame mentioned in the sentence, we can use the passato prossimo, which is given in the same column in blue text.

Past Tense Phrase		Past Tense Subjunctive Phrase
Tu sei stato bene.	You were well.	*Speravo che tu stessi* bene.** Ieri, ho sperato che tu stessi bene.	*I hoped (was hoping) that you (familiar)* were well.** Yesterday, I had hoped that you (familiar) were well.
Lei è stata bene.	She was well.	Speravo che lei stesse bene. Ieri, ho sperato che lei stesse bene.	*I hoped (was hoping) that she was* well .** Yesterday, I had hoped that she was well.
Lui è stato bene.	He was well.	Speravo che lui stesse bene. Ieri, ho sperato che lui stesse bene ieri.	*I hoped (was hoping) that he was* well (yesterday).** Yesterday, I had hoped that he was well.
La famiglia è stata bene.	The family was well.	*Speravo che la tua famiglia stesse bene.** L’anno scorso, ho sperato che la tua famiglia stesse bene.	*I hoped (was hoping) that the family* was* well.** Last year, I had hoped that the family was well.
Tutti sono stati bene.	Everybody was fine.	Speravo che tutti stessero bene. L’anno scorso, ho sperato che tutti stessero bene.	*I hoped (was hoping) that everybody was* well.** Last year, I had hoped that everybody was fine.

*Famiglia = family and is a collective noun that takes the third person singular.

Example Phrases Using “Avere” in the Past Tense Imperfetto Subjunctive Mood

As we noted in our first blog about the Italian subjunctive, we often close an email with a hope as well—for a nice weekend, for instance, or that we will see the person we have contacted sometime soon.

In a similar way, if we have been separated from someone for some amount of time, when we email or meet that person again, we may include a hope that time spent has gone well in the past. In this case, the phrases we most commonly use will need to use avere (to have) in the imperfetto subjunctive mood.

Again, the examples presented below are from our first blog on this topic. An example of how one might use the same phrase in the past tense is given in the imperfetto form – the most likely form to be used in these examples.

Present Tense Phrase		Past Tense Subjunctive Phrase
Buona settimana!	Have a good week!	Speravo che tu avessi una buona settimana.	I hoped (was hoping) that you had a good week!
Buon fine settimana!	Have a good weekend!	Speravo che tu avessi un buon fine settimana.	I hoped (was hoping) that you had a good weekend!
Buona giornata. Buona serata.	Have a good day. Have a good evening.	Speravo che tu avessi una buona giornata/buona serata.	I hoped (was hoping) that you had a good day/evening.

Example Phrases Using “Essere” in the Past Tense Imperfetto Subjunctive Mood

As we discussed in our first blog on the subjunctive, the verb essere (to be) is commonly used when describing someone’s characteristics to someone else. But what if we are not sure that someone possesses a certain characteristic, or we would like someone to possess a characteristic we fear they may not have?

These thoughts, of course, can take place in the past as easily as in the present. When speaking about the past tense, we must use the imperfetto subjunctive mood in our sentence! Here are a few examples. How many more can you think of?

Present or Past Tense Phrase		Present Tense Subjunctive Phrase
Lei era bella.	She was beautiful.	Mi sembrava che lei fosse bella. Dieci anni fa, mi sono sembrato che lei fosse bella.	It seemed to me that she was beautiful = She seemed beautiful to me.Ten years ago, it seemed to me that she was beautiful.
L’insegnante era simpatico.	The teacher was nice.	Speravo che l’insegnante fosse simpatico.	*I hoped (was hoping) that the teacher was* nice.**
Dio è in cielo.	God is in heaven.	Credevo che Dio fosse in cielo. Quando aveva dieci anni, ho creduto che Dio fosse in cielo.	*I believed that God was* in heaven.** When I was ten years old, I believed that God was in heaven.
L’attrice era brava in quel film.	The actress was great in that film.	Pensavo che l’attrice fosse brava in quel film.	*I thought that the actress was* great in that film.**
Lui era fortunato.	He was fortunate.	Credevo che lui fosse fortunato. L’anno scorso, ho creduto che lui fosse fortunato.	*I believed that he was* fortunate.** Last year, I believed that he was fortunate.
Lei era contenta.	She was happy.	Mi pareva che lei fosse contenta. Il mese scorsa, mi parevo che lei fosse contenta.	It seemed to me that she was happy = She seemed happy to me. Last month, it seemed to me that she was happy.
Loro erano bravi cantanti.	They were wonderful singers.	Può darsi che loro fossero bravi cantanti quando erano giovani.	*Perhaps they were* wonderful singers when they were young.**
Lui era un bravo studente.	He was a good student.	Dubitavo che lui fosse un bravo studente.	*I doubted that he was* a good student.**
Lei era sposata.	She was married.	Era probabile che lei fosse sposata.	She was probably married. (It was probable that she was married.)
Loro erano contenti.	They were happy.	Era possibile che loro fossero contenti.	*It was possible that they were* happy.**

Speak Italian: The Imperfetto Subjunctive Mood (Part 1)

How to Conjugate and Use

“Chiedersi” – To Wonder

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In our previous blog on Italian hypothetical phrases, Italian Subjunctive (Part 4): Italian Hypothetical Phrases of Love, we discussed the verb chiedersi, which is the verb Italians use to describe the idea of “wondering if…” something might happen.

Let’s see how this works in the past tense, in a situation when one might have “wondered if…” something might have happened.

“Mi chiedevo…” literally means, “I asked myself,” which translates into “I wondered.” At first glance, it may seem like chiedersi should fall into the category of improbable hypothetical phrases – especially when this verb is followed by se, such as in the phrase “I wondered if…” But, as we’ve learned in previous blogs, instead, chiedersi follows the same rules as our verbs of uncertainty in Rule 4.

Therefore, when chiedersi is used in the past tense, the phrase that follows will take the imperfetto subjunctive and the trapassato subjunctive forms.

Here are our previous examples for when one is wondering in the past tense about something that may have happened in either the present or the past.

Mi chiedevo se lui fosse un attore bravo in quel film.
I wondered if he is a great actor in that film.

Mi chiedevo se lui fosse stato un attore bravo in quel film.
I wondered if he was a great actor in that film.

Speak Italian: Common Italian Phrases to Introduce the Past Tense

Now that we are speaking in Italian in the past tense, we may want to use some of these expressions to refer to recent or more remote past events.

Notice from the list below that ieri (yesterday/last) is used to refer to specific times during the day. Ieri is invariable (the ending does not change). The ending for scorso (last) is gender specific (the ending changes to reflect the gender of the noun it describes).

stamattina	this morning
ieri	yesterday
l’altro ieri	the day before yesterday
ieri mattina	yesterday morning
ieri pomeriggio	yesterday afternoon
ieri sera	yesterday evening
ieri notte	last night

scorso(a)	last
l’anno scorso	last year
il mese scorso	last month
la settimana scorsa	last week

lunedì scorso	last Monday
martedì scorso	last Tuesday
mercoledì scorso	last Wednesday
giovedì scorso	last Thursday
venerdì scorso	last Friday
sabato scorso	last Saturday
domenica scorsa	last Sunday

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Italian Subjunctive Past Tense (Part 1): Speak Italian!

Italian Subjunctive (Part 5): Italian Hypothetical Phrases – Italian Family Reunion

November 1, 2017Let's Learn Italian!Conversational Italian, Italian conversation, Italian Hypothetical Impossible, Italian Hypothetical Phrases, Italian Hypothetical Probable, Italian Language, Italian Passato Remoto, Italian Subjunctive, Italian Subjunctive Mode, Italian subjunctive mood, Italian Traspassato Subjunctive Mode, Italian traspassato subjunctive mood, learn Italian, Learn Italian language, Speak Italian, Stella LucenteKathryn Occhipinti

Italian Subjunctive (Part 5): Italian Hypothetical Phrases – Italian Family Reunion

The Italian subjunctive mood can be used to make Italian hypothetical phrases and talk about your own Italian family history!

Speak Italian: Italian Subjunctive Mood with Italian Hypothetical Phrases – Past

Can you speak Italian? By now, many of you have passed the beginning stages of learning how to speak Italian and can read and comprehend quite a bit of the language. Meraviglioso!

But have you tried to take the next step to speak Italian fluently? Have you ever wondered about if something had happened in the past what the consequences might have been? How would you express this idea in Italian? Well, we can express hypothetical, or “if” ideas, called hypothetical phrases, in several ways in Italian and often with the Italian subjunctive mood that we have been focusing on in this series!

This is the fifth blog post in the “Speak Italian” series that focuses on how to use the Italian subjunctive mood, or “il congiuntivo,” and will include Italian hypothetical phrases.

To take that giant step from simple beginning sentences to more complex and fluid sentences in Italian, in this segment, we will discuss how to form Italian hypothetical phrases for probable and impossible “if” situations in the past in Italian.

We will learn how to conjugate the Italian trapassato subjunctive mood and how to form the Italian past conditional tense. With these two tenses, we will be able to construct sentences that refer to the past using Italian hypothetical phrases.

We will also introduce the passato remoto past tense that is used to describe actions that began and were completed in the past when narrating a story. See the next blog in this series for more on the passato remoto.

An example story will start our discussion. This story is about an Italian mother and daughter, Francesca and Maria, who are preparing a welcoming party for an Italian-American relative who is visiting the family for the first time. You may remember the characters from our recent Italian Subjunctive Mood Practice blog posts.

Speak Italian: Italian Subjunctive Mood with Italian Hypothetical Phrases – Past

In the first three blog posts in the “Speak Italian” series about the subjunctive mood (“il congiuntivo”), we have presented Italian phrases that take the Italian subjunctive mood in the present and past tenses.

In this blog post, we will focus on how to construct Italian hypothetical phrases for events that have occurred in the past, as well as the different Italian verb forms needed for probable past and impossible past situations.

Read our “real-life”story for examples that can be used as “anchors” in your knowledge for when you must speak Italian. Then next time you are wondering about something that might have happened in the past, start a conversation and use Italian hypothetical phrases!

Enjoy the fith blog post in this series, “Italian Subjunctive Mood (Part 5): Italian Hypothetical Phrases – Italian Family Reunion!
—Kathryn Occhipinti

Speak Italian: Italian Subjunctive Mood with Italian Hypothetical Phrases – Past

When reading the story below, notice the use of the imperfetto past tense (for making general statements about the past) and the passato remoto past tense (for describing actions that began and were completed in the past). The passato remoto past tense will be in italic, and more details will follow about this tense in the next blog.

For this blog, focus on the construction of Italian hypothetical phrases that refer to events that have occurred in the past, which have been underlined for easy identification.

Italian Hypothetical Phrases in the Past:
A Family Reunion

It was a lovely spring day in April in the mountains of Abruzzo. Frances and her daughter Mary met at Frances’ house in order to plan a party.

Era un bel giorno di aprile nelle montagne abruzzesi. Francesca e sua figlia, che si chiama Maria, si sono incontrate a casa di Francesca per organizzare una festa.

They wanted this party to be very special because Francesca’s cousin Rudy, who lives in America, was coming to Italy for the first time.

Loro volevano che questa festa fosse bellissima, perché il cugino di Francesca, Rudy, che abita in America, veniva a visitare l’Italia per la prima volta.

“Tell me again how Great Uncle Mark, cousin Rudy’s grandfather, saved our family in Italy,” Mary asked her mother.

“Raccontami ancora come il prozio Marco, il nonno del cugino Rudolfo, ha salvato la nostra famiglia in Italia,” Maria ha chiesto a sua madre.

Frances replied (to her) with the following story:

Francesca le ha risposto con la storia qui di seguito:

Great grandmother Mary had a brother, whose name was Mark.

La bisnonna Maria aveva un fratello, che si chiamava Marco.

Great Uncle Mark left Italy and went to live in America with his family in 1920.

Il prozio Marco lasciò l’Italia e andò a vivere in America con la sua famiglia nel 1920.

He had to leave Italy to find work, because after World War I there was no work in Italy.

Dovette lasciare l’Italia per trovare lavoro, perchè dopo la Prima Guerra Mondiale, non c’era lavoro in Italia.

Right after Uncle Mark had left Italy, great grandmother’s husband died, and she was left all alone to raise their three children.

Subito dopo che lo zio Marco lasciò l’Italia, il marito della bisnonna morì, e lei era da sola a crescere i suoi tre figli.

In Italy in the early 1900’s, if a woman didn’t have a husband, usually she was not able to support her family.

In Italia negli anni del primo novecento, se una donna non aveva un marito, normalmente non poteva mantenere la famiglia.

At that time, if a woman wanted to work, she could be a teacher or a seamstress.

A quel tempo, se una donna voleva lavorare, poteva fare l’insegnante o la sarta.

Grandmother Mary was a teacher before she was married.

La bisnonna Maria era un’insegnante prima di sposarsi.

But with three children it was not possible for her to leave the house to work.

Ma con tre figli, non era possibile per lei uscire di casa per lavorare.

So, Uncle Mark worked in America and sent money to Italy.

E così, lo zio Marco lavorava in America e mandava i soldi in Italia.

If Uncle Mark had not sent money to Grandmother Mary, she and the children could have starved to death.

Se lo zio Marco non avesse mandato i soldi alla bisnonna Maria, lei e i figli sarebbero potuti morire di fame.

At the end of this story, Mary said, “And if Uncle Mark had not helped Grandmother Mary, you and I would not be here today!”

Alla fine della storia, Maria ha detto, “E se lo zio Marco non avesse aiutato la bisnonna Maria, tu e io non saremmo qui oggi!”

Probably not,” replied Frances. “But fortunately, Uncle Mark was a good person. And so is our cousin Rudy. Let’s organize a wonderful party!”

“Probabilmente no,” ha risposto Francesca. “Ma fortunatamente, lo zio Marco era una persona perbene. E anche nostro cugino Rudy è così. Organizziamo una festa meravigliosa!”

Speak Italian: Grammar You Will Need to Know to Narrate a Story

A Note about the “Passato Remoto”

The passato remoto form of the Italian past tense is used in textbooks to describe historical events that took place centuries ago, and also in textbooks that describe art history. It has been used in our dialogue for this blog in order to tell our story. So, we will say a few words about the passato remoto here.

Outside of scholarly works written in Italian, the passato remoto is still commonly found as a narrative tool in novels and other forms of fiction written today.

In fiction today, the author of a novel will often use the passato remoto verb form for the voice of the narrator. The passato remoto is said to be useful for the “detached” feeling it gives to Italian narration of descriptive passages that take place in the “remote past” of a character’s life. There is no equivalent form in English to express this “detached” feeling of the “remote” past.

The passato prossimo and imperfetto verb forms are the past tense forms usually used by the author of an Italian novel for his characters, which is said to give a “realistic” feeling to the dialogue.

In another blog, we will focus on the passato remoto past tense and delve more deeply into its uses and conjugations. So, stay tuned for more on the passato remoto past tense!

Speak Italian: Grammar You Will Need to Know to for Hypothetical Phrases in the Past

How to Make a Hypothetical “If” Phrase in Italian—and Refer to the Past
“Periodo Ipotetico con ‘Se’ in Passato”

To express complex thoughts and feelings, human beings have developed “hypothetical phrases”—phrases that enable us to think or wonder about situations that could occur. For instance, how many times have we said, “If I had…” or “If I were…”?

Hypothetical phrases are composed using several different verb forms in English and Italian. For our first blog post on this topic, we talked about which Italian verb forms to use for the probable and improbable situations that are useful for every day conversation in the present.

To read our discussion on Italian hypothetical phrases that refer to the present, read our last blog, Italian Hypothetical Phrases of Love. We will now continue our discussion of Italian hypothetical phrases in this blog by describing how these phrases can be used to refer to the past.

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When we want to express the idea that something may have happened in the past in English, we most often start with a phrase that begins with the conjunction “if.” The conjunction “if” starts a dependent clause in which we will describe a condition that could have caused something else to happen. This dependent clause is then linked to a main clause that will describe the impending result or consequence that could have happened in the past.

This sentence structure is the same in Italian, and the hypothetical clause in Italian starts with the word “se.” A hypothetical phrase is called a “periodo ipotetico.”

We will now continue our discussion of the different types of hypothetical phrases by focusing on conditions in the past and their consequences in the past or present. This will give depth to our Italian conversations. In the cases that we will present, knowledge of English will be very helpful. Read the technical information, but then focus on the actual phrases and you will soon see how thinking in English and Italian for this subject is really very similar!

Speak Italian: Italian Hypothetical Phrases – Past
You Will Need to Know…

How to Make Italian Hypothetical Phrases
Probable Situations – Past

Probable hypothetical phrases that refer to the past describe situations that were likely to have happened in the past.

We can talk about these past situations as if we really knew they had happened by using the knowledge we have learned directly – from a particular individual or source in the present, or indirectly- by making assumptions gained from history.

In probable situations that took place in the past, the stated condition given in the “if” clause is a condition that the subject likely experienced in the past and the consequence that will follow is a situation that is thought to have almost certainly happened.

Examples usually given for a probable hypothetical phrase in the past often relate to historical situations that we know in general to be true, such as, “If you were one of the first settlers in America, your life was hard.” We all know that given the condition just described, the resulting situation must have happened to some extent!

The “if” phrase does not need to start the sentence, although it remains the dependent clause. Here is our example sentence again: “Your life was hard if you were one of the first settlers in America.”

To Summarize: Hypothetical Phrases for Probable Situations – Past

Italian Hypothetical Phrases—Probable Situations – Past

The condition described in the “if” clause and the consequence that followed in the past were probable; both almost certainly did happen.

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How to Make Italian Hypothetical Phrases
Probable Situations – Past

If + Past Tense Verb > Past Tense Verb

Now read the following table, which describes the sentence structure and the verb forms to use when creating a hypothetical sentence for a probable situation that occurred in the past. This table compares how English and Italian approach this type of speech.

Italian Hypothetical Phrases:
Probable Situations – Past

English

Italian

Condition (If)

Simple Past Tense

Se +

Passato Prossimo -or-

Imperfetto Past Tense

Consequence
(Probable Result)

Simple Past Tense

Passato Prossimo -or-

Imperfetto Past Tense

From the table above, it is easy to see that English and Italian both express hypothetical, probable situations that could have occurred in the past in a very similar way!

In English and Italian, for our condition in the dependent clause, we start with the conjunction “if” (“se” in Italian) and then most often use the simple past tense. For Italian, then the passato prossimo or imperfetto past tense may be used.

For the consequence in the main clause, the past tense will be again used for both English and Italian.

You may remember from our first blog on hypothetical phrases that no special tense is necessary for probable situations that occur in the present. We used only our usual indicative present and future tenses, given the certainty we have that these probable situations will occur. And it is the same with probable situations that have likely occurred in the past! No special tense is needed!

To follow are some examples of the probable hypothetical situation in the past from our dialogue, with our “if” condition and the consequence phrases underlined:

In Italy in the early 1900’s, if a woman didn’t have a husband, usually she was not able to support her family.
In Italia negli anni del primo novecento, se una donna non aveva un marito, normalmente non poteva mantenere la famiglia.

At that time, if a woman wanted to work, she could be a teacher or a seamstress.
A quel tempo, se una donna voleva lavorare, poteva fare l’insegnante o la sarta.

Speak Italian: Italian Hypothetical Phrases – Past
You Will Need to Know…

How to Make Italian Hypothetical Phrases
Impossible Situations -Past

Impossible hypothetical phrases in the past describe situations that did not actually take place in the past.

These situations are called “impossible” because the condition given refers to a past event that could not have been acted upon in the past and is also not something one can act on in the present. Instead, these types of phrases are used in order to “wonder” out loud or “suppose” what could have happened in a particular situation if things had been different in the past from what we know to be true.

Stated another way: in impossible hypothetical situations of the past, since the stated condition given in the “if” clause in the past and did not happen, it could not have been used to change the situation. But, we can still speculate on what the outcome might have been. The consequence that might have followed can refer either to the past or to the present.

The often used phrase, “If I had known…” is a good example of an impossible hypothetical condition. Here, the condition as stated did not happen – the person did not know something at the time, which was in the past and is now over. This in turn makes the outcome, either in the past or the present, pure speculation.

With an impossible hypothetical situation, there may be a note of regret in the statement, as the individual describes how he/she would like things to have been different now that the past event has ended. Perhaps this individual might say, “If I had known she needed me, I would have been at home.” Or, “If I had known he was sick, I would have brought him some medicine.”

Or, another example that describes how he/she sees that things could have been different now: If Ann and her ex-boyfriend Paul had gotten back together, she would not be happy now. *

The “if” phrase does not need to start the sentence, although it remains the dependent clause. Here is our first example sentence again: “I would have been at home if I had known she needed me.”

In fact, I always remember this type of Italian sentence with the following rule: If you start an Italian sentence with the present or past conditional tense, the subjunctive mood must follow in the next phrase!

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*(Do you recognize this sentence from our last blog on hypothetical phrases? Here the speaker is making a supposition about the past – that in fact it was possible for Anna and her ex-boyfriend to get together, and then speculating about how Anna would feel about this today. Neither the condition nor the consequence have taken place, however. In the dialogue, we learn that Anna does not regret that she is no longer seeing her ex-boyfriend. She has a new boyfriend and is actually very happy.)

To Summarize: Impossible Situations – Past

Italian Hypothetical Phrases— Impossible Situations – Past

The condition described in the “if” clause is impossible as it did not happen and is a supposition about the past; therefore the condition cannot lead to the result in the consequence speculated about, either in the past or the present.

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How to Make Italian Hypothetical Phrases
Impossible Situations – Past

If + Trapassato Subjunctive >
Past Conditional or Present Conditional Verb

Now read the following table, which describes the sentence structure and the verb forms to use when creating a hypothetical sentence for an impossible situation when we want to speculate about something that might have happened in the past. This table compares how English and Italian approach this type of speech.

The examples given use the first person “I” or “io” subject pronoun, as this is the most common form to use in conversation, but of course all subject pronouns and their respective verb conjugations are possible.

Italian Hypothetical Phrases: Impossible Situations – Past Consequence – Past		English		Italian
Condition (If:Supposition)	If +	Past Pluperfect (I had + past participle)	Se +	Trapassato Subjunctive (io avessi/fossi + past participle)
Consequence (Speculation)		Conditional + Present Perfect (I could, would, should +have + past participle)		Past Conditional (io avrei/sarei + past participle)

Italian Hypothetical Phrases: Impossible Situations – Past Consequence – Present		English		Italian
Condition (If: Supposition)	If +	Past Pluperfect (I had + past participle)	Se +	Trapasatto Subjunctive (io avessi/fossi + past participle)
Consequence (Speculation)		Present Conditional		Present Conditional

The table above shows that English and Italian speakers think alike, although this may not be so evident to the English speaker at first.

1.In English and Italian, for the condition that we are wondering about in the dependent clause, we start with the conjunction “if” (“se” in Italian), and then use the past tense form that indicates an event that was both started and competed in the past. These are thought of as “remote” events.

In English, a remote event that was started and completed in the past uses the helping verb “had,“ (rather than have) prior to adding on the past participle. Who remembers this from English class? Chances are we English speakers do this naturally, but now that we are learning Italian, our English grammar surfaces again!
When we see the “had”+ verb in English, this should alert us that in Italian we must use the traspassato subjunctive! (io avessi/io fossi + past participle)!

2. For both English and Italian, the main clause that describes the speculative consequence with reference to the past will use the past conditional; to refer to the present simply use the present conditional.

To form the past conditional In English, we use one of our helping verbs – could, should, would, and add the present perfect tense (actually a past tense): “have + past participle”).
To form the past conditional in Italian, we use the imperfetto subjunctive forms of “to have” and “to be” (examples: io avrei or io sarei) + past participle.

Below are some examples of phrases that used impossible hypothetical situations from our dialogue, with our condition and consequence phrases underlined.

Se Anna e il suo ex-fidanzato Paolo si fossero riconciliati, lei non sarebbe felice ora.
If Ann and her ex-boyfriend Paul had gotten back together, she would not be happy now.

If Uncle Mark had not sent money to Grandmother Mary, she and the children could have starved to death.
Se lo zio Marco non avesse mandato i soldi alla bisnonna Maria, lei e i figli sarebbero potuti morire di fame.

At the end of this story, Mary said, “And if Uncle Mark had not helped Grandmother Mary, you and I would not be here today!”
Alla fine della storia, Maria ha detto, “E se lo zio Marco non avesse aiutato la bisnonna Maria, tu e io non saremmo qui oggi!”

Speak Italian: Italian Hypothetical Phrases – Past
You Will Need to Know…

How to Make Italian Hypothetical Phrases in the Past Tense with
“Come se” and “Magari”

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In our previous blog on Italian hypothetical phrases, Italian Subjunctive (Part 4): Italian Hypothetical Phrases of Love, we discussed the expressions, “Come se…” (as if) and “Magari “(If only, I wish). We mentioned that the phrases “come se” and “magari” fall into the realm of improbable hypothetical phrases in the present tense, and therefore always take the imperfetto subjunctive verb form.

We also mentioned that, In the past tense, the phrases “come se” and“magari” will be followed by the trapassato subjunctive verb form. If we think a little about what these phrases mean in the past tense – a wishful thinking about something in the past that therefore cannot be changed – we can see now that we are in the category of impossible hypothetical phrases.

In English, as in Italian, the above phrase and words will also take the subjunctive form in the past tense. Either the more recent or remote past tense form can be used in English, depending on the situation.

Let’s take the examples from our previous blog on Italian hypothetical phrases, Italian Subjunctive (Part 4): Italian Hypothetical Phrases of Love, and now use them in the past tense with the trapassato subjunctive to show how this works.

Il mio amico inglese non aveva practicamente accento quando lui parlava in italiano, come se fosse stato un vero italiano!
My British friend had virtually no accent when he spoke Italian, as if he (were/had been) a real Italian!

Mi ha mostrato le scarpe più costose che aveva, come se io fossi stata ricca!
She showed me the most expensive shoes she had, as if I were rich!”

Magari, questo fosse stato possibile!
I wish/If only this had been possible!

Speak Italian: Italian Hypothetical Phrases of Love
You Will Need to Know…

How to Make Italian Hypothetical Phrases in the Past Tense with
“Chiedersi”

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Let’s see how this works in the past tense, in a situation when one might have “wondered if…” something might have happened.

“Mi chiedevo…” literally means, “I asked myself,” which translates into “I wondered.” At first glance, it may seem like chiedersi should fall into the category of improbable hypothetical phrases – especially when this verb is followed by se, such as in the phrase “I wondered if…” But, as we’ve learned in our very first blog about the Italian subjunctive mood, chiedersi follows the same pattern as the verbs in Rule 4.

We will learn in the next blog that these verbs, in the past tense, take the imperfetto subjunctive and the trapassato subjunctive forms.

For now, here are some examples for when one is wondering in the past tense about something in the present and the past. And “stay tuned” to our later blog posts to learn how to use these tenses for all phrases that take the subjunctive mood in the past tense!

Mi chiedevo se lui fosse un attore bravo in quel film.
I wondered if he is a great actor in that film.

Mi chiedevo se lui fosse stato un attore bravo in quel film.
I wondered if he was a great actor in that film.

Speak Italian: Italian Verb Tenses You Will Need to Know for

Improbable Italian Hypothetical Phrases- Past

The “Trapassato” Subjunctive Mood

“Essere” or “Avere” + Past Participle

We have already learned in our last blog on this topic that the most commonly used improbable hypothetical phrases begin with the words, “If I were…” or “If I had…”

So in Italian, the two most important phrases of this type to remember are, “Se io fossi…” and “Se io avessi…” using the imperfetto subjunctive conjugations for essere and avere.

To form the trapassato subjunctive mood for impossible hypothetical phrases in the past tense, we need only to add the past participle to the initial phrases above!

So in Italian, the two most important phrases of this type to remember are, “Se io fossi stato…” and “Se io avessi avuto…” using the traspassato subjunctive conjugations for essere and avere.

In English, however, any event that started and was completed in the past simply needs “had” inserted in front of the past participle! This is a bit easier than Italian, but with a little practice, you will get used to the Italian in no time!

For examples using these verbs in Italian, please see the previous and following sections.

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Avere (to have) + Fare (to do/make) — Trapassato Subjunctive Mood

*(se)* io	avessi + fatto	I had + made/done
*(se)* tu	avessi + fatto	you (familiar) had + made/done
*(se)* Lei (se) lei/lui	avesse + fatto	you (polite) had + made/done she/he had + made/done

*(se)* noi	avessimo + fatto	we had + made/done
*(se)* voi	aveste + fatto	you all had + made/done
*(se)* loro	avessero + fatto	they had + made/done

Essere (to be) + Andare (to go) — Trapassato Subjunctive Mood

*(se)* io	fossi + andato(a)	I had + gone
*(se)* tu	fossi + andato(a)	you (familiar) had + gone
*(se)* Lei *(se)* lei/lui	fosse + andato(a)	you (polite) had + gone she/he had + gone

*(se)* noi	fossimo + andati(e)	we had + gone
*(se)* voi	foste + andati(e)	you all had + gone
*(se)* loro	fossero + andati(e)	they had + gone

Grammar Note: The Italian Conditional Tense

The conditional tense is used to make a polite request, as we learned way back in Chapter 4 of our Conversational Italian for Travelers textbook, when we discussed how to use the word vorrei, which means “I would like” or “I wish.” In the “Important Phrases” section of Chapter 16, we also learned how to use the word vorremmo, which means, “we would like,” to place an order for the group at a table in a restaurant.

Notice that the meaning of a conditional verb is rendered in English with the combination of “would + infinitive verb.” The conditional tense, in summary, expresses a want or wish, an intention, a duty, or a preference.

The method used to form the stems for the Italian conditional tense is exactly the same as the method to form the Italian future tense. Also, the irregular stems for the conditional tense are identical to those for the future tense. The Italian conditional endings are always regular and will be the same for all three conjugations!

Please see Chapters 17 and 18 of the Conversational Italian for Travelers textbook for a review of how to conjugate the conditional tense in Italian.

YouTube videos to learn Italian are available from © Stella Lucente, LLC.
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Italian Subjunctive (Part 5) : Italian Hypothetical Phrases – Italian Family Reunion

Italian Subjunctive (Part 4): Italian Hypothetical Phrases of Love

September 5, 2017Let's Learn Italian!Avere imperfetto subjunctive, chiedersi, Conversational Italian, dovere conditional tense, Essere imperfetto subjunctive, Hypothetical Phrases in Italian, Imperfetto Subjunctive Mode, Imperfetto subjunctive mood, Italian, Italian Conditional Tense, Italian conversation, Italian future tense, Italian helping verbs, Italian Hypothetical Phrases, Italian Hypothetical Possible, Italian Hypothetical Probable, Italian Imperfetto Subjunctive, Italian Imperfetto Tense, Italian learning, Italian Subjunctive Mode, Italian subjunctive mood, Language learning, learn Italian, Learn Italian language, potere conditional tense, Say it in Italian, Say Italian, Speak Italian, Stare imperfetto subjunctive, Stella Lucente, Volere conditional tenseKathryn Occhipinti

Italian Subjunctive (Part 4): Italian Hypothetical Phrases of Love

The Italian subjunctive mood can be used to make Italian hypothetical phrases and talk about love!

Speak Italian: Italian Subjunctive Mood with Italian Hypothetical Phrases

Can you speak Italian? By now, many of you have passed the beginning stages of learning to speak Italian and can read and comprehend quite a bit of the language. Meraviglioso!

But have you tried to take the next step to speak Italian fluently? Have you ever wondered about if something were to happen and just how you would express this idea in Italian?

Well, we can express hypothetical, or “if” ideas, called Italian hypothetical phrases, in several ways in Italian and often with the Italian subjunctive mood that we have been focusing on in this series!

This is the fourth blog post in the “Speak Italian” series that focuses on how to use the Italian subjunctive mood, or “il congiuntivo.” This blog and the one to follow (in November 2017) will complete our list of uses for the Italian subjunctive mood. For a complete list, see our last blog, Italian Subjunctive (Part 3): Speak Italian!

Let’s take that giant step from simple beginning sentences to more complex and fluid sentences in Italian! in this segment, we will discuss how to form Italian hypothetical phrases for probable and improbable “if” situations in Italian in the present. We will cover the phrases that start with “come se,” “magari,” and “ammesso che.” We will also learn how to use the verb chiedersi, which means “to wonder.”

We will learn how to conjugate the Italian imperfetto subjunctive and how to use the Italian conditional tense to construct our improbable Italian hypothetical phrases.

An example email between two friends talking about hypothetical situations of love will start our discussion! You may remember the characters and the story in the email from our recent Italian Subjunctive Mood Practice blog posts.

Speak Italian: Italian Subjunctive Mood with Italian Hypothetical Phrases

In this blog post, we will focus on how to construct Italian hypothetical phrases, as well as the different Italian verb forms needed for probable and improbable situations.

Read our “real-life” dialogue for examples that can be used as “anchors” in your knowledge for when you must speak Italian. Then next time you are wondering about something, start a conversation and use Italian hypothetical phrases!

Enjoy the fourth blog post in this series, “Italian Subjunctive (Part 4): Italian Hypothetical Phrases of Love”! —Kathryn Occhipinti

Speak Italian: Italian Subjunctive Mood with Italian Hypothetical Phrases

All phrases that take the Italian subjunctive mood have been underlined in this sample email. Try to pick out the Italian hypothetical phrases and then read about how to make your own Italian hypothetical phrases in the next section.

The characters Caterina and Susanna in our dialogue are cousins who grew up together in Abruzzo and now stay in touch with each other and discuss family happenings through email. Notice the many Italian idiomatic expressions that relate to dating and love, some of which are explained after each section.

Italian Hypothetical Phrases of Love

Una breve email tra due cugine
A brief email between two cousins

Cara Susanna,
Dear Susan,

È stato bellissimo vedere te e i tuoi figli quest’estate in Abruzzo. E poi, lo shopping a Roma è stato fantastico!
It was wonderful to see you and your children this summer in Abruzzo. And afterward, the shopping in Rome was fantastic!

Se io non fossi occupata all’università, verrei a trovarvi di nuovo a Roma!
If I weren’t so busy at college, I would come to visit you all again in Rome!

Forse quando la sessione di gennaio è finita, posso fare un viaggio.
Maybe when the exam session in January is over, I can take a trip.

Fammi sapere se tu sei libera per un weekend presto!
Let me know if you are free for a weekend soon!

Ma oggi sto scrivendo perché ho una buona notizia.
But today I am writing because I have good news.

La nostra cugina Anna ha incontrato un ragazzo molto simpatico quando è stata in Sicilia l’estate scorsa.
Our cousin Ann met a very nice boy when she was in Sicily last summer.

Lui si chiama Giovanni.
His name is John.

Anna mi ha mandato una foto. Mamma mia, è un figo da paura!*
Ann texted a photo to me. Wow, he is amazing!

Stanno insieme da un mese e frequentano la stessa università.
They have been (Italian: are [still]) together for a month and go to the same college.**

Secondo Anna, vanno molto d’accordo e sono gia una coppia.
According to Ann, they get along very well and are already a couple.

Se il tempo è bello, andranno al mare per il weekend a casa del papà di Giovanni.
If the weather is nice, they will go to the sea for the weekend to Giovanni’s father’s house.

A tutti e due piace molto la spiaggia e fare windsurf.
They both really like the beach and to go windsurfing.

Se Anna vuole andare al ristorante o al cinema, lui la porta.
If Ann wants to go to a restaurant or to the movies, he takes her.

Se lei vuole restare a casa, loro restano a casa insieme.
If she wants to stay at home, they stay at home together.

Mi sembra che siano innamorati.
It seems (to me) like they are in love.

Se Anna e il suo ex-fidanzato Paolo si fossero riconciliati, lei non sarebbe felice ora.
If Ann and her ex-boyfriend Paul had gotten back together, she would not be happy now.

Tu ricordi bene, sono sicura, come lui l’ha tradita, come le ha spazzato il cuore, e comunque erano gia agli sgoccioli da mesi prima.***
You remember well, I am sure, how he betrayed her, how he broke her heart, and anyway, they were already at the end of their relationship for months before.

Finalmente Anna si è resa conto che lui non era quello giusto per lei.
Finally, Anna realized that he was not right for her.

L’ha lasciato e ora quella storia (d’amore)**** è finita e un nuovo amore è cominciato per lei.
She left him and now that (love) story is over, and a new one (Italian: a new love) has begun for her.

Sono molto contenta per Anna!
I am very happy for Ann!

Forse tra un anno si sposano!
Maybe in a year, they (will) get married!

Scrivimi quando hai tempo!
Write me when you have time!

Tanti baci.
Lots of kisses.

Caterina.

*“Un figo da paura” refers to a young man who is handsome and sexy. Used alone, “Figo!” means “cool.”

And yes, “Mamma mia!” is still in use in Italy today. Variations include “Madre santa!” or simply “Maria!”

**In this case, Italian uses the present tense for an ongoing action, whereas English uses the past tense.

***The phrase “essere agli sgoccioli” literally means “to be at the last drops” and refers to when the last of the wine in the bottle is left and drips out. This phrase is used to suggest that the relationship is dying out and the couple is only seeing each other infrequently.

**** A romantic relationship between two people is usually described as “una storia,” the shortened form of “una storia d’amore,” or “a love story.”

****************************************************

Cara Caterina,
Dear Kathy,

Anch’io sono molto contenta per nostra cugina Anna!
I am also very happy for our cousin Ann!

Lei è molto bella e penso che anche Giovanni sia un bel ragazzo come dicevi.
She is very pretty, and I think he is also good looking from what (Italian: as) you have told me.

Lui sembra molto simpatico e mi sembra che lui la tratti molto bene.
He seems very nice, and it seems to me that he treats her very well.

Mi sembra che a loro piaccia molto frequentarsi.*
It seems (to me) that they like seeing each other very much.

Mi pare che non sia solo una cotta ma si piacciano da vero.
It seems to me that it is not only a crush but they really like each other.

Ma si stanno frequentando solamente da un mese!
But they have been seeing each other (English: dating) (for) only one month!**

Loro sono molto giovani, come te.
They are very young, like you.

Non si sa mai che cosa può succedere!
(Italian: One never knows) You never know what could happen!

Nè uno nè l’altro lavorano. Non hanno vissuto con un’altra persona. Non hanno soldi…
Neither one of them works. They have never lived with another person. They don’t have money…

Spero che loro aspettino almeno un anno prima di cominciare a parlare di matrimonio.
I hope that they wait at least a year before starting to talk about marriage!

Sarei molto contenta se tu venissi a trovarmi a febbraio.
I would be very happy if you were to come to see me in February.

A presto!
See you soon!

Susanna

*See the next section for comments about frequentarsi
**In this case, Italian uses the present tense for an ongoing action, whereas English uses the past tense.

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Italian Hypothetical Phrases of Love

Talking about Relationships in Italian

Today in America, we “date,” “go out on a date,” or refer to two people who are “dating,” from the first romantic encounter until they become married. After they are married, they can still have “date nights.” But be careful when translating American romantic experiences into Italian! The English verb “to date” as used in America today to refer to a romantic relationship does not have a literal translation in Italian.

Of course, to “court” a woman was common in past centuries, and Italian language still reflects this. When a man tries to show he is interested in a woman, the phrase “fare la corte a…” is used from the verb corteggiare or “to court.”

If a woman wants to refer to dating a man, the following phrases can be used:

“Mi vedo un ragazzo.”	“I’m seeing a boy.”
“Esco con un ragazzo.”	“I’m going out with a boy.”
“Il ragazzo con cui ho/avevo appuntamento.”	“The boy with whom I have/had an appointment.”

There is another verb still in use in Italy today that refers to a man seducing, or “winning over,” a woman: “conquistare a… ” If a woman lets herself be “won over” or “captivated” by a man, she can use the phrase “Mi lascio conquestare a…”

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If one friend wants to ask the other about his/her new love, they may say,
“Che tipo è lei?” or “Che tipo è lui?” meaning, “What is he/she like?” or, more simply, “Che tipo è?”

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There are two Italian phrases commonly used to refer to two people who have become romantically involved and are getting together regularly before marriage: “to go out with someone”—“uscire con qualcuno”—or “seeing each other”—“frequentarsi.”

To express a relationship between two people in Italian, and especially a close or romantic relationship, we can use the word “rapporto.”

Any relationship in general is considered a “relazione.” But be careful, as an “affair” outside of marriage is also a “relazione,” whereas “affari” refers to more general personal and business “affairs.”

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Finally, we know that many times romantic love comes to an end. How do we describe a “break up” in Italian? The verbs lasciare (to leave) and lasciarsi (to leave each other) come into play. From our dialogue:

L’ha lasciato e ora quella storia (d’amore) è finita e un nuovo amore è cominciato per lei.
She left him and now that (love) story is over, and a new one (Italian: a new love) has begun for her.

Below is an example sentence two people might use talk about a couple that has “broken up” or two people who have”left each other”

Loro si sono lasciati. They have broken up.

If you are one of the two people in the relationship and want to talk about “breaking up”:
Ci lasciamo stasera. We (will) break up/are breaking up tonight.
Non ci lasciamo, ma… We are not breaking up but…
Ci sono lasciati il mese scorso. We broke up last month.

Speak Italian: Grammar You Will Need to Know for Italian Hypothetical Phrases

How to Make Italian Hypothetical Phrases
“If” Phrases Refer to the Present:
Periodo Ipotetico con “Se” in Presente

When we want to express the idea that something may happen in English, we most often start with a phrase that begins with the conjunction “if.”

The conjunction “if” starts a dependent clause in which we will describe a condition that could cause something else to happen. This dependent clause is then linked to a main clause that will describe the impending result or consequence that we are concerned about.

This sentence structure is the same in Italian, and the hypothetical clause in Italian starts with the word “se.” An Italian hypothetical phrase is called a “periodo ipotetico.”

Hypothetical phrases are composed using several different verb forms in English and Italian. For this blog post, we will talk about which Italian verb forms to use for the probable and improbable situations that may arise in the present and that are useful for every day conversation.

“Hold onto your hat!” as we say in English, because we will now start a “whirlwind tour” of the different types of hypothetical phrases that we can use to give depth to our Italian conversations. In the cases that we will present, knowledge of English will be very helpful. Read the technical information, but then focus on the actual phrases and you will soon see how thinking in English and Italian for this subject is really very similar!

Speak Italian: Italian Hypothetical Phrases of Love
You Will Need to Know…

How to Make Italian Hypothetical Phrases
Probable Situations

Hypothetical phrases in the present tense describe situations that are likely to happen, or probable situations.

In probable situations, the stated condition given in the “if” clause is a condition that a person may experience in the present and the consequence that will follow is a situation that will almost certainly happen.

A common example usually given for a probable hypothetical phrase relates to the weather, such as “If it rains, I will get wet when I go out.” We all know that given the condition just described, the resulting situation will happen to some extent!

The “if” phrase does not need to start the sentence, although it remains the dependent clause. Here is our example sentence again: “I will get wet when I go out if it rains.”

To Summarize: Italian Hypothetical Phrases for Probable Situations

Italian Hypothetical Phrases—Probable Situations

The condition described in the “if” clause and the consequence that will follow are probable;
both will almost certainly happen.

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How to Make Italian Hypothetical Phrases
Probable Situations

If + Present Verb > Present or Future Verb

Now read the following table, which describes the sentence structure and the verb forms to use when creating a hypothetical sentence for a probable situation. This table compares how English and Italian approach this type of speech.

Italian Hypothetical Phrases: Probable Situations		English		Italian
Condition (If)	If +	Present	Se +	Present (or *Future)**
Consequence (Probable Result)		Present or Future		Present or Future

From the table above, it is easy to see that English and Italian both express hypothetical, probable situations in a very similar way!

In both English and Italian, for the condition in the dependent clause, we start with the conjunction “if” (“se” in Italian) and then use the simple present tense.
In both English and Italian, when the dependent if/se clause starts with the present tense, the main clause that follows can use either the present or the future tense.
Italian may use the future tense for the condition, or se clause for situations that are in the more distant future but are really likely to happen (really probable). (This does not occur in English.)
*If the Italian dependent se clause is in the future tense, then the main clause that follows in Italian must also be in the future tense.

A review of the Italian future tense and the conjugations of the most commonly used Italian verbs in the future can be found in Chapters 15 and 16 of our textbook, Conversational Italian for Travelers.

To follow are some examples of the probable hypothetical situation from our dialogue, with our “if” condition and the consequence phrases underlined.

You will notice that we introduced these lines in the dialogue with the idea, or condition, that the characters Anna and Giovanni have become a couple; therefore, the consequence is that in the future, they will do everything together. And, for this couple, the consequence is almost certain to happen.

Se il tempo è bello, andranno al mare per il weekend a casa del papà di Giovanni.
If the weather is nice, they go (will go) to the sea for the weekend to Giovanni’s father’s house.

Se Anna vuole andare al ristorante o al cinema, lui la porta.
If Ann wants to go to a restaurant or to the movies, he takes (will take) her.

Se lei vuole restare a casa, loro restano a casa insieme.
If she wants to stay at home, they stay (will stay) at home together.

Speak Italian: Italian Hypothetical Phrases of Love
You Will Need to Know…

How to Make Italian Hypothetical Phrases
Probable Situations with a Command

Hypothetical phrases in the present tense can be used to refer to a situation and then give “advice” in the form of a direct command.

Phrases like “If you feel… (this way)” or “If you make/do… (something)” are very common in conversation. The speaker may describe a certain situation two people know to be likely, and then, without waiting for a reply, the speaker may give a command about what should be done in that situation. In the speaker’s mind, perhaps, that command will virtually always solve a perceived problem.

Think about how often parents give advice to their children in this way—without first waiting to hear how the children really feel! Here is a common exchange in my house, parent to child, of course. “Dinner will be ready in a half hour. Don’t eat cookies. If you are hungry, eat some fruit!”

The “if” phrase need not start the sentence in these cases, although it remains the dependent clause. Here is our example sentence again: “Eat some fruit if you are hungry!”

To Summarize: Italian Hypothetical Phrases for Probable Situations with a Command

Italian Hypothetical Phrases—Probable Situations with a Command

The condition described in the “if” clause is probable, and the “advice” given in command form will almost certainly solve a problem, and/or result in the consequence that describes the future event.

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How to Make Italian Hypothetical Phrases
Probable Situations with a Command

If + Present Verb > Imperative Verb

Now read the following table, which describes the sentence structure and the verb forms to use when creating a hypothetical sentence for a probable situation when giving a command. This table compares how English and Italian approach this type of speech.

Italian Hypothetical Phrases:

Probable Situations
with a Command

English

Italian

Condition (If)

If +

Present

Se +

Present (or Future)

Consequence
(Advice/Probable Result)

Imperative

From the table above, it is easy to see that English and Italian express hypothetical probable situations with a command in a very similar way!

In English and Italian, for our condition in the dependent clause, we start with the conjunction “if” (“se” in Italian), and then most often use the simple present tense.
For situations that are in the more distant future but are likely to happen (probable), Italian may use the future tense for the condition clause.
For the consequence in the main clause, use the command verb form in English and Italian. The English command form is easy, and for the most part, we don’t even realize we are using it! Just remove the “to” from the infinitive form of the English verb. “To eat” is an infinitive in English. “Eat!” is a command.
A review of the Italian command form will not be provided here, but can be found in Chapter 9 of our textbook, Conversational Italian for Travelers. (Note: In writing, Italian emphasizes that the command form is in use with an exclamation mark at the end of the sentence.)

Below is an example of a probable situation with a command from our dialogue, with our condition and consequence phrases underlined.

Fammi sapere se tu sei libera per un weekend presto!
Let me know if you are free for a weekend soon!

Speak Italian: Italian Hypothetical Phrases of Love
You Will Need to Know…

How to Make Italian Hypothetical Phrases
Improbable Situations

Hypothetical phrases in the subjunctive mood with the conditional tense describe situations in the present that are not likely to happen and therefore are improbable.

These types of phrases are used in order to “wonder” out loud or “suppose” what could happen in a particular situation if things were “different” from what we know to be true.

In improbable hypothetical situations, the stated condition given in the “if” clause and the consequence that will follow are situations that could happen (possible), but they are very unlikely to happen and are therefore improbable.

A common example often given for an improbable hypothetical phrase relates to money, such as, “If I were rich, I would travel to Italy.” Here, the condition as stated is unlikely; in general, one is usually either rich or not. This in turn makes the outcome unlikely to happen. With an improbable hypothetical phrase such as this, there may be a note of wishful thinking or irony in the statement. We are dealing with supposition, rather than a fact.

The “if” phrase does not need to start the sentence, although it remains the dependent clause. Here is our example sentence again: “I would travel to Italy if I were rich.”

In fact, I always remember this type of Italian sentence with the following rule: If you start a sentence with a phrase with the present conditional tense,” the imperfetto subjunctive mood must follow in the next phrase!

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Nearly Impossible Situations

Sometimes, a situation proposed for the present is so improbable that it is actually impossible, although it may be interesting to bring up in conversation. Think about how we sometimes pretend to be someone or something we know we cannot be. By wondering about these impossible situations, we are able to reveal a little something about ourselves and the world we actually live in.

For instance, I am someone who loves cats. What comes to my mind when I think of the cats I have here in America is an “easy” life. I may convey the complicated idea of how I might enjoy an “easy” life myself by relating my own life to the lives of my cats.

If I were a cat, I would live in a nice house and not have to work.
I would live in a nice house and not have to work if I were a cat.

Or, maybe I am someone who would like to change something about my appearance, which is easier today than in the past, but the condition and consequence are still impossible for me.

If my eyes were green, I could find work as a model.
I could find work as a model if my eyes were green.

To Summarize: Italian Hypothetical Phrases for Improbable Situations

Italian Hypothetical Phrases—Improbable and Impossible Situations

The condition described in the “if” clause is improbable to varying degrees, and therefore is unlikely to result in the consequence that describes the future event one is wondering about.

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How to Make Italian Hypothetical Phrases
Improbable Situations

If + Imperfetto Subjunctive Verb >
Present Conditional Verb

Now read the following table, which describes the sentence structure and the verb forms to use when creating a hypothetical sentence for an improbable situation when we want to wonder about something. This table compares how English and Italian approach this type of speech.

Italian Hypothetical Phrases:

Improbable Situations

English

Italian

Condition
(If: Wonder)

If +

Subjunctive

Se +

Imperfetto Subjunctive

Consequence
(Supposition)

Conditional

Present Conditional

From the table above, it is easy to see that English and Italian speakers think alike, although this may not be so evident to the English speaker at first.

Use of the subjunctive mood is becoming less common in English conversation, and even in some widely respected American newspapers and magazines.

Let’s digress for a moment, and give some English examples of the subjunctive mood:

For instance, instead of “If I was…,” correct English would be “If I were…” to signal that the phrase to follow is hypothetical and the consequence unlikely.
Or, instead of “If I saw…,” correct use of the subjunctive would be “If I had seen…” (It is never grammatically correct to say “I seen…,” despite what one may actually hear in some towns in America today!)
To make matters more complicated, the English subjunctive form of many verbs is similar to the regular past tense form.

At any rate, let’s summarize how to make probable hypothetical phrases in English and Italian:

In English and Italian, for the condition we are wondering about in the dependent clause, we start with the conjunction “if” (“se” in Italian), and then use the imperfetto subjunctive mood. ( A review of the imperfetto subjunctive mood for avere, essere, and stare, and -are, -ere, -ire infinitive verbs will follow this section.)
For the consequence/supposition in the main clause, use the present conditional tense in English and Italian.

Below are some examples of phrases that used possible hypothetical situations from our dialogue, with our condition and consequence phrases underlined.

Se io non fossi occupata all’università, verrei a trovarvi di nuovo a Roma!
If I weren’t so busy at college, I would come to visit you all again in Rome!

Sarei molto contenta se tu fossi venire a trovarmi a febbraio.
I would be very happy if you were to come to see me in February.

Speak Italian: Italian Hypothetical Phrases of Love
You Will Need to Know…

How to Make Italian Hypothetical Phrases
“Come se” and “Magari”

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“Come se…”

Hypothetical phrases can start with the phrase “Come se,” which translates into the phrase “as if.” This phrase falls into the realm of hypothetical phrases since the comparison is with a characteristic or action that is improbable. It should be noted that, in Italian, the word “se” in this type of comparison phrase is sometimes omitted (see our last example).

Therefore, come se, is an improbable hypothetical phrase, so it must always take the imperfetto subjunctive verb form in the present tense. (In the past tense, the phrase come se takes the trapssato subjunctive form, which will be the subject of the next blog.)

In English, as in Italian, the “as if” improbable hypothetical phrase will also use the subjunctive verb form.

Common phrases that use come se compare actions and characteristics of individuals in an attempt to make a point in a dramatic way. These “as if” phrases may be flattering:

Il mio amico inglese non ha practicamente accento quando lui parla in italiano, come se fosse un vero italiano!
My British friend has virtually no accent when he speaks Italian, as if he were a real Italian!

We often use this type of phrase to talk ironically about a situation, or to show our displeasure about something that has happened. For instance, I may be be shopping and a salesperson may try to sell me a pair of shoes that are way too expensive for my budget. (Isn’t this always a problem, for both women and men?) I might say something like:

Mi mostra le scarpe più costose che ha, come se io fossi ricca!
She shows me the most expensive shoes they have, as if I were rich!”

A line from a novel by Gianrico Carofiglio, Testimone inconsapevole illustrates how this “as if” phrase can be used to emphasize an important point. The line is spoken by the main character, who is the narrator of the book. He relays the conversation he and his wife had when his wife tells him that she is filing for divorce. One of the reasons his wife gives for the divorce is that she feels humiliated because her husband thinks she has not noticed his many affairs – in effect treating her as if she were stupid. Clearly, she believes she is a smart woman, and notes with irony that he would chose to treat as if she were not. From page 16:

“Quello che l’aveva più umiliata non era la mia infedelità… ma il fatto che le avessi veramente mancato di rispetto trattandola come fosse una stupida.”

“That which had humiliated her the most was not my infidelity… but the fact that I had truly lost respect for her, treating her as if she were an idiot.”

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“Magari…”

“Magari” is a colorful and commonly used Italian word. Make an Italian friend and you will no doubt hear this word! Magari can be used as an adverb and in this case means, “even if.” Magari is most often used as an interjection, with the rough meaning of “if only…” or “I wish…” when the “I wish” is a statement of something that is unlikely to happen.

Magari is always followed by an imperfetto subjunctive verb in the present tense (and the trapassato subjunctive in the past tense) and takes the subjunctive in English as well.

For instance , let’s say I am talking to someone about my love of Italy. They may mention that I should spend my summer there. My response:

Magari, questo fosse possibile!
I wish/If only this were possible!

Speak Italian: Italian Hypothetical Phrases of Love
You Will Need to Know…

How to Make Italian Hypothetical Phrases
“Ammesso che…”

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A very common way to start an Italian conversation about a complex topic is with the phrase “Ammesso che…” which translates into “Assuming that…” This phrase falls into the realm of hypothetical phrases because, by definition, the speaker does not know if the facts to be discussed are true or not. The phrase implies a starting point from which a discussion on a topic can begin, often in the hopes of uncovering the answer to a difficult question, or somehow finding a fact or the truth behind a certain situation.

Since the phrase “Ammesso che…“ is by definition uncertain, the phrase that follows must always be in the subjunctive mood.

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In some cases, the speaker knows already that it will be possible to uncover a fact or the truth behind a situation. He just needs to make the right assumption or ask the right questions to get his answer. In these cases, “Ammesso che…” will be followed by a verb in the present subjunctive mood, just as the other verbs in Rule 4 that we learned about in our very first blog on the subjunctive mode.

After the assumption is posed, a third phrase will complete the sentence to describe what the speaker thinks will be the end result. Naturally, this final phrase will be in the future tense, since it is a prediction.

In English, the verb in the phrase to follow “Assuming that…” will be in the simple present tense and the third, final phrase will be in the future tense.

Common phrases that start with “Ammesso che…” could invoke a reflection about an individual’s character, or what that individual says or does.

Ammesso che lui sia… bello/gentile/intelligente… lui sarà un bravo fidanzato.
Assuming that he is… handsome/kind/intelligent… he will be a wonderful fiance.

Ammesso che lei dica… che tutto va bene… cominceremo il lavoro lunedì prossimo.
Assuming that she says... everything is good to go… we can start work next Monday.

Ammesso che tu possa… prendere le vacanze in agosto… andremo al Lago Maggiore.
Assuming that you can… take vacation in August… we will go to Lake Maggiore.

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In some cases, the speaker knows already that it will be nearly impossible to uncover a fact or the truth behind a situation. Or possibly the speaker has a wish for the future that he knows is unlikely to come about. But he is trying to come to some conclusion anyway, or figure out a way to make something happen. In these cases, “Ammesso che…” will be followed by a verb in the imperfetto subjunctive mood.

After the assumption is posed, a third phrase will complete the sentence to describe what the speaker thinks will be the end result. Naturally, since we are working with the imperfetto, this final phrase will be in the conditional tense, either present or past, depending on the situation.

In English, the verb in the phrase to follow “Assuming that…” will also be in the subjunctive mood to reflect the improbability of the situation and the third, final phrase will be in the present or past conditional tense, just like in Italian.

Common phrases that start with “Ammesso che…” could invoke a reflection about an individual’s character, or what that individual says or does. There may be a hint of irony in these phrases with the use of the imperfetto, as the speaker makes an assumption he already knows will be unlikely to happen. Let’s try our examples above, this time creating nearly impossible characteristics or situations.

Ammesso che lui fosse… ricco/famoso/un presidente … lui potrebbe essere un bravo fidanzato.
Assuming that he were… rich/famous/a president… he would be a wonderful fiance.

Ammesso che lei dicesse… di aver vinto la lotteria… avremmo cominciato/ avremmo potuto cominciare il lavoro lunedì prossimo.
Assuming that she had said… she has won the lottery… we could start/ could have started work next Monday.

Ammesso che tu potessi… smettere di lavorare ogni Domenica… potemmo andare al Lago Maggiore.
Assuming that you could… stop working every Sunday… we could go to Lake Maggiore.

Speak Italian: Italian Hypothetical Phrases of Love
You Will Need to Know…

How to Make Italian Hypothetical Phrases
“Chiedersi”

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Finally, no discussion on Italian hypothetical phrases would be complete without mention of the verb chiedersi, which is the verb Italians use to describe the idea of “wondering if…” something might happen.

“Mi chiedo…” literally means, “I ask myself,” which translates into “I wonder.” At first glance, it may seem like this verb should fall into the category of improbable hypothetical phrases – especially when this verb is followed by se, such as in the phrase “I wonder if…” But, cheidersi takes the present and past tense (passato) subjunctive forms, just as the other verbs in Rule 4 that we learned about in our very first blog on the subjunctive mode.

So, you already know how to use this verb if you have read the first blog in this series!

Here are some examples for when one is wondering in the present tense about something that happened in either the present or the past. Notice the use of either the present subjunctive mood or the passato subjunctive mood.

Mi chiedo se lui sia un attore bravo in quel film.
I wonder if he is a great actor in that film.

Mi chiedo se lui sia stato un attore bravo in quel film.
I wonder if he was a great actor in that film.

Speak Italian: Italian Verb Tenses You Will Need to Know for

Improbable Italian Hypothetical Phrases

The Imperfetto Subjunctive Mood

Auxiliary Verbs – “Essere, Avere, Stare”

The most commonly used improbable hypothetical phrases begin with the words, “If I were…” or “If I had…”

So in Italian, the two most important phrases using the imperfetto subjunctive to remember are, “Se io fossi…” and “Se io avessi…” using the imperfetto subjunctive conjugations for essere and avere.

Below are the imperfetto subjunctive conjugations for the auxiliary verbs in Italian. You will notice that avere has a regular conjugation, whereas essere and stare have irregular conjugations. The stressed syllables are underlined.

In hypothetical clauses, because the imperfetto subjunctive mood is introduced by se, (se) is included in the subject pronoun column as a reminder. When conjugating these verbs, say “se” before the subject pronoun and each verb form to reinforce this way of thinking!

Avere—to have—Imperfetto Subjunctive Mood

*(se)* io	avessi	I had
*(se)* tu	avessi	you (familiar) had
*(se)* Lei (se) lei/lui	avesse	you (polite) had she/he had

*(se)* noi	avessimo	we had
*(se)* voi	aveste	you all had
*(se)* loro	avessero	they had

Essere—to be—Imperfetto Subjunctive Mood

*(se)* io	fossi	I were
*(se)* tu	fossi	you (familiar) were
*(se)* Lei *(se)* lei/lui	fosse	you (polite) were she/he were

*(se)* noi	fossimo	we were
*(se)* voi	foste	you all were
*(se)* loro	fossero	they were

Stare—to stay/be—Imperfetto Subjunctive Mood

*(se)* io	stessi	I stayed/were
*(se)* tu	stessi	you (familiar) stayed/were
*(se)* Lei *(se)* lei/lui	stesse	you (polite) stayed/were she/he stayed/were

*(se)* noi	stessimo	we stayed/were
*(se)* voi	steste	you all stayed/were
*(se)* loro	stessero	they stayed/were

The Imperfetto Subjunctive Mood

Regular “-are, -ere, -ire” Conjugations

Improbable hypothetical phrases always take the imperfetto subjunctive mood in Italian, and as we have seen in the last sections.

But, the imperfetto subjunctive mood has other uses. Specifically, it is necessary with all of our many clauses that trigger the Italian subjunctive mood when we are speaking in the past tense. We will go over these rules in detail in later blogs.

For now, we will simply discuss the complete conjugation of the imperfetto subjunctive mood, which is actually quite easy. So, keep the knowledge of how to conjugate the imperfetto subjunctive mood handy for when we discuss its many uses!

Luckily, there are only a few irregular stem forms to learn for the imperfetto subjunctive mood, making it an easier tense to learn than the present, future, and conditional tenses.

Finally, the imperfetto subjunctive mood endings are always regular and will be the same for all three conjugations!

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To conjugate the imperfetto subjunctive mood…

As usual, we must first make our stem from the infinitive –are, -ere, and –ire verbs. The method used to form the stems for the imperfetto subjunctive mood is easy – just drop the –re from the infinitive verb!

This will create stems that end in the letters –a for the –are verbs, -e for the –ere verbs, and –i for the –ire verbs. Then, add the following endings below to the stems for all three conjugations:

Subjunctive Mood – Imperfetto Endings

io	ssi
tu	ssi
Lei/lei/lui	sse

noi	ssimo
voi	ste
loro	ssero

The following table will put together our stems with our imperfetto subjunctive mood endings. A few notes about this:

Notice that English uses the simple past tense to express the same idea in improbable hypothetical phrases. Or, alternatively,“were + infinitive form or gerund.” Examples in English: “If I were to live…” or “If I were living…” Also, “had + past participle,” such as, “If I had seen…”

Imperfetto Subjunctive Mood – Example Verb Conjugations

	Abitare (to live) (lived/were living)	Vedere (to see) (saw/had seen)	Finire (to finish) (finished/were finishing)
io	abitassi	vedessi	finissi
tu	abitassi	vedessi	finissi
Lei/lei/lui	abitasse	vedesse	finisse

noi	abitassimo	vedessimo	finissimo
voi	abitaste	vedeste	finiste
loro	abitassero	vedessero	finissero

The Imperfetto Subjunctive Mood

Commonly Used Regular Verbs

Luckily, most verbs are regular in the imperfetto subjunctive mood. So, there are many, many more regular than irregular verbs! Below are some commonly used regular verbs. Practice saying them out loud and listen to how each conjugated verb sounds.

Notice that English uses the simple past tense to express the same idea in improbable hypothetical phrases. Or, alternatively, were + infinitive form or gerund. ” English examples: “If I were to go…” or “If I were going…” Also, “had + past participle,” such as, “If I had seen…”

Imperfetto Subjunctive Mood Conjugations – Commonly Used Regular Verbs

	Andare (to go) (went/were going)	Sapere (to know)(knew/had known)	Venire (to come) (came/had come)	Vivere (to live) (lived/were living)
io	andassi	sapessi	venissi	vivessi
tu	andassi	sapessi	venissi	vivessi
Lei/lei/lui	andasse	sapesse	venisse	vivesse

noi	andassimo	sapessimo	venissimo	vivessimo
voi	andaste	sapeste	veniste	viveste
loro	andassero	sapessero	venissero	vivessero

The Imperfetto Subjunctive Mood

Commonly Used Irregular Verbs

Notice that English uses the simple past tense to express the same idea in improbable hypothetical phrases. Or, alternatively, “were + infinitive form or gerund, ” such as, “If I were to make…” or “If I were making…” Also, “had + past participle,” such as, “If I had seen…”

Fare – to do/make – Imperfetto Subjunctive Mood

io	facessi	I did/ made
tu	facessi	you (familiar) did/made
Lei lei/lui	facesse	you (polite) did/made she/he did/made

noi	facessimo	we did/made
voi	faceste	you all did/made
loro	facessero	they did/made

Dare – to give – Imperfetto Subjunctive Mood

io	dessi	I gave
tu	dessi	you (familiar) gave
Lei lei/lui	desse	you (polite) gave she/he gave

noi	dessimo	we gave
voi	deste	you all gave
loro	dessero	they gave

Dire – to say/tell – Imperfetto Subjunctive Mood

io	dicessi	I said/told
tu	dicessi	you (familiar) said/told
Lei lei/lui	dicesse	you (polite) said/told she/he said/told

noi	dicessimo	we said/told
voi	diceste	you all said/told
loro	dicessero	they said/told

Grammar Note: The Italian Conditional Tense

The conditional tense is used to make a polite request, as we learned way back in Chapter 4 of our Conversational Italian for Travelers textbook, when we discussed how to use the word vorrei, which means “I would like” or “I wish.” In the “Important Phrases” section of Chapter 16, we also learned how to use the word vorremmo, which means, “we would like,” which comes in handy at a restaurant when ordering for the table.

Please see Chapters 17 and 18 of the Conversational Italian for Travelers textbook for a review of how to conjugate the conditional tense in Italian.

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Grammar Note: Present versus Conditional Tense

The Meaning of the Modal Verbs
“Dovere, Potere, Volere”

Throughout our Conversational Italian for Travelers textbook, we have emphasized the polite forms of volere (vorrei, vorremmo) in the conditional tense and recommended using this form to make requests for oneself or for a group. The English translation for the conditional verbs in general is that of “would + infinitive verb,” which describes a request or a wish, rather than a demand or an order.

Here are two examples below of the same request that might be made in a restaurant to a waiter, first in the present tense, and then in the conditional tense. The first, in the present tense, sounds more demanding and insistent. The second, in the conditional tense, sounds less forceful, as it describes a preference or wish rather than a definite need.

Voglio un tavolo vicino alla finestra. I want a table by the window.

Vorrei un tavolo vicino alla finestra. I would like/wish to have a table by the window.

Let’s take a look at the other modal, or helping, verbs and see what connotation the conditional tense lends to them. For dovere, the idea relayed in the present tense is a forceful must. With devo (I must), we are led to understand that the action that follows has to be completed, no matter what else may come to pass. The conditional dovrei translates into “I should” or “I ought to,” which gives a feeling of necessity but also implies a bit of indecisiveness and an uncertainty as to whether the speaker believes the action described will be completed. Here are two examples using each tense:

Devo visitare mia nonna domenica. I must visit my grandmother Sunday.

Dovrei visitare mia nonna domenica. I should visit my grandmother Sunday.

For the verb potere, the present tense “posso” translates as “I can” and can be used to ask “May I?” “Può,” the present tense “polite you” form, is also used to make a polite request and in these situations means, “Could you?” The conditional form we have just learned also translates as “could” and may be heard while traveling in Italy. Here are some commonly used phrases:

Mi può auitare? Could you(polite) help me?

Potrebbe aiutarmi? Could you (polite) help me?

Ti posso aiutare? May I help you (familiar)?

Potrei aiutarla? May I help you (polite)?

The Imperfetto Subjunctive Mood
Modal Verbs – “Dovere, Potere, Volere”

The imperfetto subjunctive forms of the modal, or helping verbs, are used frequently in conversation. All have regular stems, and of course, regular endings – as all imperfetto subjunctive mood verbs have regular endings! Here is a summary of the imperfetto subjunctive mood conjugations for all three modal verbs together, for easy reference.

Notice that the English translation for these verbs is in the conditional tense.

Dovere – to have to – Imperfetto Subjunctive Mood

io	dovessi		I should
tu		dovessi	you (familiar) should
Lei/lei/lui		dovesse	you (polite) she/he should

noi		dovessimo	we should
voi		doveste	you all should
loro		dovessero	they should

Potere – to can – Imperfetto Subjunctive Mood

io	potessi	I could
tu	potessi	you (familiar) could
Lei/lei/lui	potesse	you (polite) she/he could

noi	potessimo	we could
voi	poteste	you all could
loro	potessero	they could

Volere – to want – Imperfetto Subjunctive Mood

io	volessi	I would like
tu	volessi	you (familiar) would like
Lei/lei/lui	volesse	you (polite) she/he would like

noi	volessimo	we would like
voi	voleste	you all would like
loro	volessero	they would like

Kathryn Occhipinti, MD, author of the
Conversational Italian for Travelers series of books, is a teacher of Italian for travelers to Italy in the Peoria and Chicago area. “Everything you need to know to enjoy your visit to Italy!”Join my Conversational Italian! Facebook group and follow me on Twitter at StellaLucente@travelitalian1 and start to learn Italian today for FREE!
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Italian Subjunctive (Part 4) : Italian Hypothetical Phrases of Love

Italian Subjunctive Mood Practice: Planning Your Italian Vacation

November 20, 2016Let's Learn Italian!About Italian, All about Italian, andare a trovare, Conversational Italian, Email Italian, Italian conversation, Italian Email, Italian Language, Italian preposition a, Italian preposition di, Italian preposition in, Italian reflexive verbs, Italian reflexive verbs emotion, Italian reflexive verbs movement, Italian Subjunctive Mode, Italian subjunctive mood, Italian verbs as nouns, Language learning, learn Italian, Learn Italian language, portare a trovare, Speak Italian, Stella Lucente, Telling time in Italian, Trovare, venire a trovareKathryn Occhipinti

Italian Subjunctive Mood Practice: Planning Your Italian Vacation

Planning your Italian vacation?

Use our Italian subjunctive mood practice tips to write your own Italian email!
Revisit the Italian subjunctive mood!

Italian Subjunctive Mood Practice: Planning Your Italian Vacation

Can you speak Italian? By now, many of you have passed the beginning stages of learning how to speak Italian and can read and comprehend quite a bit of the language. Meraviglioso!

But have you tried to take the next step to communicate in Italian fluently? Are you comfortable using email to make plans with your family and friends? Can you use the Italian subjunctive mood and Italian reflexive verbs correctly when making plans?

For our second Italian practice email, we will continue with the story of Caterina and Francesca, two Italian cousins who are living in different cities and trying to reconnect. First, we will present a review of how to describe visiting someone using the verb trovare. Then we will present information about Italian reflexive verbs of emotion and of self-action, and the different meanings of verbs with reflexive and non-reflexive forms. We will also discuss use of Italian prepositions regarding the different places we go in our daily lives and regarding time. Finally, we will describe how to use Italian verbs as nouns.

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Italian Subjunctive Mood Practice: Planning Your Italian Vacation

A note about the Italian subjunctive mood: to express complex feelings in Italian correctly, it is important to use the Italian subjunctive mood. Using the subjunctive mood is difficult for English speakers, because we only rarely use this tense in English, and it’s something that I am always working on! This is the second blog post in the “Italian Practice” series that focuses on how to use the Italian subjunctive mood, or “il congiuntivo,” when writing an email to your family.

To review how to express one’s feelings using the subjunctive mood and how to conjugate the subjunctive mood in the present tense, see our Speak Italian Subjunctive series.

Enjoy the second blog post in this series, “Italian Subjunctive Mood Practice: Planning Your Italian Family Vacation.”
—Kathryn Occhipinti

Italian Subjunctive Mood Practice Email: Planning Your Italian Vacation

How many phrases that use the subjunctive mood can you pick out of the following emails? Hint: these phrases usually include the word “che.” Look for the underlined phrases for help! Notice that the future tense does NOT have a subjunctive mood! Also, look for reflexive verbs of emotion and self-action and special phrases of visiting that have been italicized for easier comprehension.

Remember these examples as “anchors” in your knowledge for when you try to speak Italian and try out the subjunctive mood in your next Italian conversation!

Italian Subjunctive Mood Practice Email:
Planning Your Italian Vacation
An Email to Francesca

Cara cugina Francesca,
Dear Cousin Frances,

Leggere la tua ultima email mi rende* molto contenta!
Reading your last email makes me very happy!

Sono molto contenta che tu e i tuoi figli possiate venire a trovarmi in Abruzzo.
I am very happy that you and your children can come to visit me in Abruzzo.

Mi dispiace che tuo marito non possa venire con voi.
I am sorry that your husband cannot come with you all.

Di solito, ti prendi cura di lui molto bene ogni giorno!
Usually, you take care of him very well every day!

Ed ora, dobbiamo fare il programma!
And now, we must make up the itinerary!

Spero che tu possa arrivare la domenica prima di Ferragosto.
I hope that you can arrive the Sunday before the Ferragosto holiday.

Per prima cosa, io vorrei portarti a trovare i nostri zii.
First, I want to take you to visit our aunt and uncle.

Sono anziani e io dovrei andare a trovarli ogni domenica.
They are elderly and I should go to visit them every Sunday.

Dopo che andiamo in chiesa di mattina, dobbiamo andare a casa loro.
After we go to church in the morning, we should go to their house.

Sono sicura che nostra zia preparerà una buona cena per noi.
I am sure that our aunt will make a wonderful dinner for us.

Lunedì, vorrei andare in montagna a fare un picnic.
On Monday, I would like to go to the mountains to have a picnic.

Per me, restare in montagne dovrebbe essere molto bello con l’aria fresca e gli alberi verdi.
For me, a stay in the mountains would be very beautiful with the fresh air and the green trees.

Dovremmo avere una buona giornata, no?
We should have a good day, no?

Possiamo prendere un buon apertivo come un Aperol Spritz e chiacchierare un po.’
We can have a nice apertif like an Aperol Spritz and chat a bit.

I ragazzi saranno anche molto contenti di giocare insieme fuori.
The kids will also be very happy to play together outdoors.

Mi piacerebbe molto restare in montagna due or tre giorni.
I would really like to stay in the mountains for two or three days.

Possiamo restare all’Albergo Grande vicino a Capistrello per due o tre giorni.
We could stay at the Albergo Grande Hotel near Capistrello for two or three days.

Tu ricordi che il padrone è anche mio cugino.
You remember that the owner is also my cousin.

Prima che tu ritorni, dobbiamo fare la spesa.
Before you return, we could go grocery shopping.

Puoi comprare il cibo tipico del nostro paese.
You can buy food typical of our town.

Puoi dirmi la verità—il pane a Roma non è buono come il nostro in Abruzzo!
You can tell me the truth—the bread in Rome is not good like ours in Abruzzo!

Pensaci. Fammi sapere che pensi di questo programma!
Let me know what you think of this itinerary!

Non vedo l’ora di vederti!
I can’t wait to see you! (idiomatic expression)

Abbracci e baci,
Hugs and kisses,

Caterina
Kathy

*From the verb rendere, which can mean “to render,” or “to make,” as in “to become.”

Italian Subjunctive Mood Practice Email:
Planning Your Italian Vacation
A Reply Email to Caterina

Cara cugina Caterina,
Dear Cousin Kathy,

Mi sembra che il tuo programma sarà meraviglioso!
It seems (to me) that your schedule will be marvelous!

Sarei molto contenta di restare in montagna con te!
I would be very happy to stay in the mountains with you!

Dopo avere letto la tua email mi sono resa conto che mi mancano molto le montagne dell’Abruzzo.
After having read your email, I realized that I really miss the Abruzzo mountains.

Dopo, andiamo a fare la spesa insieme a Capistrello e così posso portare del buon pane a Roma quando torno!
Afterward, let’s go grocery shopping together in Capistrello, so I can bring some good bread to Rome when I return!

Ho anche una buona idea—
I also have a great idea—

Forse tu puoi venire a trovarmi a Roma e possiamo fare shopping di vestiti.
Perhaps you can come to visit me in Rome, and we can go shopping for clothes.

Lo sai ci sono molti bei negozi di moda a Roma!
You know there are many wonderful, fashionable shops in Rome!

Qualche volta mi annoio di vivere a Roma senza te.
Sometimes I get bored living in Rome without you.

Ma, non mi sono arrabiata con mio marito due anni fa quando ci siamo trasferiti a Roma.
But I didn’t get mad with my husband two years ago when we moved to Rome.

Mi piacerebbe molto andare a trovare i nostri zii in Abruzzo.
I would really like to go to see our aunt and uncle in Abruzzo.

Mi ricordo di avere cenato molto bene a casa di zia Rosa!
I remember having eaten very well at Aunt Rose’s house!

Sarà molto divertente!
It will be very entertaining!

Ci vediamo presto!
See you soon! (Literally “We will see each other soon!”)

Francesca
Frances

Italian Subjunctive Mood Practice Email: What You Will Need to Know…

Italian Subjunctive Mood Practice:
Planning Your Italian Vacation

You Will Need to Know…
Phrases That Describe Visiting People

Let’s quickly review how to use the verbs trovare and venire to describe visiting someone, which we covered in detail in our last Italian practice blog post, “Emailing Italian Families.” We will also describe how to use the verb portare when bringing someone to visit others. Examples will come from the emails in this blog post. Did you notice these italicized phrases as you were reading?

Trovare means “to find” something.

When trovare is combined with the verb andare in the phrase “andare a trovare,” the meaning changes into “to go to visit” someone.

Sono anziani e io dovrei andare a trovarli ogni domenica.

Mi piacerebbe molto andare a trovare i nostri zii in Abruzzo.

Similarly, when trovare is combined with the verb venire in the phrase “venire a trovare,” the meaning changes into “to come to visit” someone.

Vorrei che tu venga a trovarmi in Abruzzo quest’estate.

Sono molto contenta che tu e i tuoi figli possiate venire a trovarmi in Abruzzo.

Forse tu puoi venire a trovarmi a Roma e possiamo fare shopping di vestiti.

Also, when trovare is combined with the verb portare in the phrase, “portare a trovare,” the meaning changes into “to bring (someone) to visit” someone.

Per prima cosa, io vorrei portarti a trovare i nostri zii.

Italian Subjunctive Mood Practice:
Planning Your Italian Vacation

You Will Need to Know…
Reflexive Verbs of Emotion

Italian reflexive verbs can be tricky for the English speaker because in many situations, reflexive verbs are used in Italian but not in English. In these cases, we must learn to think in Italian! If we think in Italian, using reflexive verbs to refer to changing emotions that one is feeling at the moment does makes sense.

We have already talked about the most common reflexive verbs in the second blog post in the Speak Italian! series, Speak Italian: All About… What I Am Doing! This blog post describes activities of daily living, which are the most common activities that use the Italian reflexive verbs.

Other activities that involve the changing of one’s emotions during the course of daily life are also reflexive, as in the current blog post, when one cousin talks to the other about her feelings about Rome and taking care of her children. Remember that verbs that translate as “to get” in English are reflexive in Italian!

So, if I “get”/ “am getting” angry, bored, embarrassed, offended, or worried, the verbs used to describe this happening within myself will be reflexive in Italian: arrabbiarsi, annoiarsi, imbarrazzarsi, offendersi, and preoccuparsi.

Verbs of “forgetting” and “remembering” that use the word “about” after the infinitive form in English are also reflexive in Italian. These verbs are followed by the preposition di: dimenticarsi di, scordarsi di (colloquial expression), ricordarsi di.

The following list includes the above verbs, and “a few” more!

accorgersi di/che	to notice or realize (about self/someone or something else)
annoiarsi	to get bored
arrabiarsi	to get angry/mad
aspettarsi	to expect/ to anticipate
confondersi	to get confused
concentrarsi	to concentrate (on something)
dimenticarsi di	to forget about (something)
distrarsi	to be distracted
focalizzarsi	to focus (on something)
imbarrazzarsi	to get embarrassed
interessarsi a	to take an interest in/ to show an interest in
interessarsi di	to take care of/ to be in charge of
offendersi	to get offended
preoccuparsi	to get worried/worry
rendersi conto di/che	to realize (about self/someone or something else)
ricordarsi di	to remember to do
sbronzarsi	to get drunk
scordarsi di	to forget about (something)(colloquial expression)
scusarsi	to excuse oneself
seccarsi	to get annoyed
sentirsi	to feel
sorprendersi	to get surprised
spaventarsi	to get scared
ubriacarsi	to get drunk
vergognarsi	to be ashamed

*************************

Notice that the Italian verb that describes getting bored, annoiarsi, sounds very much like the English word “annoyed.” However, don’t get confused (confondersi)! The Italian verb that means “to get annoyed” is seccarsi. And of course, the verb for to feel in Italian is reflexive—sentirsi, not to be confused with the non-reflexive verb that means to hear—sentire.

Here is how this works. When I want to talk about these emotions as they are happening to me, I must use the reflexive pronoun mi for myself. If I want to talk about emotions that I know are happening to someone else, then I must use the correct corresponding reflexive pronoun/verb conjugation (ti, si, ci, vi, si). Remember to leave out the subject pronoun (io, tu, Lei/lei/lui, noi, voi, loro) unless it is necessary for clarification.

All this is easier than it sounds once you give it a try!

Mi arrabio.
I am/am getting angry.

Ti annoi?*
Are you getting bored?

Lei si imbarrazza!
She is getting embarrassed!

Lui si imbarrazza!
He is getting embarrassed!

Ci offendiamo!
We are getting offended!

Vi confondete!
You all are getting confused!

Loro si seccano.
They are getting annoyed.

*The tu and noi forms of arrabiarsi and annoiarsi are irregular and have only one “i” at the ending: tu arrabi e tu annoi.

*************************

You Will Need to Know…
How to Use the Past Tense with Reflexive Verbs

Distrarsi is often used in the past tense, as below. In this case, remember to change the “o” ending of the masculine past participle distratto to an “a” ending to make the feminine past participle distratta if needed.

Mi sono distratto(a).
I got distracted.

Non ho ascoltato il professore perché mi sono distratto(a).
I didn’t hear the professor because I got distracted.

Two other reflexive verbs in our list that are commonly used in the past tense are those of forgetting and remembering: dimenticarsi di and scordarsi di (to forget about something)* and ricordarsi/ricordarsi di (to remember something/to remember to do something).

Mi sono dimenticato(a) di andare alla posta centrale stamattina.
I forgot to go to the post office this morning.

Non mi sono mai scordato(a) di te.
I have never forgotten you.

Mi sono ricordato(a) il nostro aniversario di matrimonio quest’anno!
I remembered our anniversary this year!

Mi sono ricordato(a) di portare il vino per cena stasera.
I remembered to bring the wine for dinner stastera.

*The verb scordare means to make an instrument go out of tune. There is some controversy about the use of scordarsi with the meaning of “to forget,” and in effect giving it the same meaning as dimenticarsi; some linguists consider only dimenticarsi correct Italian. That said, to some Italians scordarsi means to forget something in your heart and dimenticarsi to forget something in your mind (i.e. without involving emotion). In actual, everyday use, most Italians probably consider the two interchangeable.

Italian Subjunctive Mood Practice:
Planning Your Italian Vacation

You Will Need to Know…
How to Say, “I realized…” or “I noticed”*

Lastly, we present examples that use the phrases “rendersi conto di/che,” which means “to realize” and “accorgersi di/che,” which can mean both “to realize” and “to notice.” Accorgersi di/che is most often used when something is recognized, but not necessarily understood.

To realize is rendered in Italian with the reflexive verb phrase rendersi conto. In order to say, “I realize,” we must conjugate the verb rendersi, which has a regular -ere conjugation in the present tense, and then add the word conto to finish the phrase. So, “I realize…” is “Io mi rendo conto…” But, of course, we always leave out the Italian subject pronoun, so the phrase that Italians use is conversation is just, “Mi rendo conto…”

To complete the sentence, just add what you realize in the phrase that follows! The following phrase will most commonly be in the present or past tense, but of course, there are times when we may need to use the conditional or future tenses, depending on our realization.

Link what you realize about yourself with the Italian conjugation “di” before adding an infinitive verb. Note: you don’t always have to use “di” in this case if you are talking about yourself. But if you do chose to use “di,” the verb in the next phrase must be in the infinitive form.

—-or—-

Link what you realize about yourself, someone or something else with the Italian conjugation“che”before adding a verb conjugated in the appropriate tense. Remember, if the subject is different in the original phrase and the phrase that follows, you MUST use “che” to link the two phrases.

In English, both “di” and “che” are translated as “that.”

Below are example sentences to show how this all works. These example sentences are true for me. To think of more examples, and try to describe what you realize about yourself!

Mi rendo conto di avere un’ora per preparare la cena.
I realize that I have an hour to make dinner.

Mi rendo conto che ho un’ora per preparare la cena.
I realize that I have an hour to prepare dinner.

Mi rendo conto che hai un’ora per preparare la cena.
I realize that you have an hour to prepare dinner.

Mi rendo conto che desidero sempre imparare di più sulla lingua italiana.
I realize that I will always want to learn more about the Italian language.

********************

Now, let’s say that we recognize something without really understanding what it is about, or what is going on – that is, we notice something. In this case, we can use the reflexive verb accorgersi. This verb also has a regular -ere conjugation and will be followed by either di or che, for the same reasons as we have just described above. To say, “I notice that,” then, use the phrase, “Mi accorgo di/che…”

Again, an example from my life, taking from a time when I was when talking a good friend of mine about a certain movie. Try to think of some examples from your own life!

Mi accorgo che ti piace molto questo film. Vuoi andare a vederlo con me?
I notice that you really like this film. Do you want to go to see it with me?

********************

How to say, “I realize,” or “I notice,” seems simple enough! But wait… we most commonly use the past tense to talk about something that we have realized or have noticed. This, of course, involves conjugating our two verbs in the past tense!

We will use the passato prossimo forms of these verbs for the one time events of realizing or noticing something, which you will remember is formed for reflexive verbs with essere + the past participle. (If you need a general refresher on how to form the passato prossimo, please refer to our book Conversational Italian for Travelers Just the Verbs ).

The past participle for rendersi is the irregular verb reso, and the ending will need to change to reflect the speaker when using the passato prossimo.
The past participle for accorgersi is the irregular verb accorto, and the ending will need to change to reflect the speaker when using the passato prossimo.

So, when I want to talk about what I have realized, I can say, “Mi sono resa conto di/che…” Similarly, a male would say, “Mi sono reso conto di/che…”
And, when I want to mention what I have noticed, I can say, “Mi sono accorta di/che…” Similarly, a male would say, “Mi sono accorto di/che…”

To complete the sentence, just add what you have realized in the phrase that follows! The following phrase will most commonly be in the present or past tense, but of course, there are times when we may need to use the conditional or future tenses, depending on our realization.

Below is a table to summarize these phrases of realizing and noticing. I’ve made the verbs in the phrase green to differentiate them from the other words in the phrase. Most Italians use these verb phrases so frequently, though, that they say them quickly, and the words usually run together in real-time conversation. Listen carefully for these phrases and then try to use them yourself!

Mi rendo conto di/che…	I realize that…
Mi sono reso conto di/che…	I realized that… (male speaker)
Mi sono resa conto di/che…	I realized that… (female speaker)

Mi accorgo di/che…	I notice that…
Mi sono accorto di/che…	I noticed that… (male speaker)
Mi sono accorta di/che…	I noticed that… (female speaker)

We had fun in our Conversational Italian! group “discussing” what we all realized during the year 2017 for our talking point this January. Below are some example sentences that I’ve made up thinking back to New Year’s Eve of 2018. (Notice that as a female I have to use resa and accorta.) How many more examples can you think of?

Ieri sera, a Capodanno, mi sono resa conto di essere molto fortunata.
Last night, on New Year’s Eve, I realized that I am very lucky.

Ieri sera, a Capodanno, mi sono resa conto che sono molto fortunata.
Last night, on New Year’s Eve, I realized that I am very lucky.

Mi sono resa conto di avere amici molto cari.
I realized that I have many dear friends.

Mi sono resa conto che ho molti cari amici.
I realized that I have many dear friends.

Mi sono resa conto di avere imparato tante cose importanti dalla mia famiglia.
I realized that I have learned so many important things from my family.

Mi sono resa conto che ho imparato tante cose importanti dalla mia famiglia.
I realized that I have learned so many important things from my family.

Mi sono accorta che era molto freddo a Capodanno.
I noticed that it was very cold on New Year’s Eve.

*The past section is a reprint from the blog: Italian Phrases We Use EVERY Day! What I realized… from ConversationalItalian.wordpress.org, to be published on February 7, 2018.

Italian Subjunctive Mood Practice:
Planning Your Italian Vacation

You Will Need to Know…
Reflexive Verbs of Self-Action

Other activities that involve actions relating to the self are reflexive in Italian. They refer to what a person (oneself) is doing. Here is a short list:

divertirsi	to enjoy oneself/to have fun
divertirsi a	to enjoy… / to play with
incontrarsi	to meet (planned)
informarsi di/su	to ask/inquire about something
nascondersi	to hide
occuparsi di	to work at a job or a task
perdersi	to get/be lost
prepararsi (a)	to get ready (to)
provarsi	to try on clothes
rilassarsi	to relax
riposarsi	to rest
sbrigarsi	to hurry up
sedersi*	to sit down
smarrirsi	to get/be lost

*Sedersi has an irregular conjugation.

*************************

You Will Need to Know…
How to Say You are Having Fun
“Divertirsi, Divertente, Divertimento”

One of the most important verbs listed in the last section is divertirsi, which is the verb that Italians use to say that they are enjoying themselves or having fun. There is a lot of fun to be had in Italy, so it is worthwhile to learn how to use this verb, as well as the adverb divertente and the noun divertimento.

To tell someone, “Have a good time!” use the phrase, “Buon divertimento!” To use the verb divertirsi and the adverb divertente see below:

Mi diverto!	I am enjoying myself/having fun!
Mi diverto a guardare la TV (televisione).	I enjoy watching TV.
Mi sono divertito(a)!	I had fun!/I had a good time!
Mi sono proprio divertito(a)!	I really had fun/a good time!

È divertente!	It is fun/entertaining/enjoyable.
È divertente parlare italiano.	It is fun to speak Italian.
Era divertente!	It was fun/entertaining/enjoyable/a good time.
Era proprio divertente!	It was really a lot of fun/entertaining/enjoyable/a good time!

Italian Subjunctive Mood Practice:
Planning Your Italian Vacation

You Will Need to Know…
“Prendersi Cura di…” and “Occuparsi di…”
Reflexive Phrase of Taking Care

When one person is taking care of another person (or living thing), the reflexive phrase “prendersi cura di…” is used in Italian. The reason that this concept is reflexive in Italian may be that the caring originates within an individual person (myself, for instance), although the action of caring/taking care of is directed at another person. The easiest way to remember this concept is by examples (see below).

The preposition “di” at the end of this phrase must be combined with the definite article (il,la,lo, l’, i, gli, le) if one is not referring to a family member. Also, remember that the subject pronoun is usually left out of the sentence, except for clarification.

Mi prendo cura di mio figlio.
I take care of my son.

Ti prendi cura di tuo nipote?
Do you take care of your nephew?

Lei si prende cura della classe quando l’insegnante non c’è.
She takes care of the class when the teacher is away.

Lui si prende cura della sua famiglia.
He takes care of his family.

Ci prendiamo cura degli ospiti.
We take care of the guests.

Vi prendete cura degli animali nella fattoria.
You all take care of the animals on the farm.

Loro si prendono cura dei loro nipoti.
They take care of their grandchildren.

********************

When a person is taking care of something, the reflexive phrase “occuparsi di…” is used in Italian. The reason that this concept is reflexive in Italian may be that the caring originates within an individual person (myself, for instance), although the action of caring/taking care of something is directed at something. Often this involves someone’s occupation, but it could also involve just one task.

Me ne occupo io.
I will take care of this.

Te ne occupi tu.
You will take care of this

Ti vuoi occupare di questo?/ Te ne vuoi occupare?
Do you want to take care of this?

Lui si occupa del ristorante della sua famiglia.
He takes care of his family’s restaurant.

Da decembre mi occuperò di trovare un nuovo impiegato.
From December I will take care/have the task of finding a new worker.

Italian Subjunctive Mood Practice:
Planning Your Italian Vacation

You Will Need to Know…
Different Meanings of Verbs
with Regular and Reflexive Forms

Many Italian verbs have regular and reflexive forms. If the action is directed back toward the speaker, use the reflexive form. For the verbs ricordare and ricordarsi, in most situations, either form may be used. When speaking of something one needs to remember to do, use ricordare di, as we learned in the last chapter, or ricordarsi di.

Note also that the meaning of a verb may change with use of its reflexive form. Chiamare, for instance, means to call someone, as in to make a call on the telephone or to call out to someone. But chiamarsi means to call oneself by name. Sentire refers to the senses, and can mean to hear, to feel (as in to touch something) and also to smell. But the reflexive verb sentirsi has the very different meaning of to feel an emotion.

aspettare	to wait/wait for	aspettarsi	to expect/anticipate
chiamare	to call	chiamarsi	to call onself/to name
fermare	to stop an object	fermarsi	to stop oneself
incontrare	to meet by chance	incontrarsi	planned meeting
informare	to inform/to educate	informarsi di/su	to ask/to inquire
lavare	to wash	lavarsi	to wash oneself
mettere	to put/place	mettersi	to put on clothing
occupare	to be occupied	occuparsi di	to work at a job or a task
essere occupato con…	to be busy with (something)
preparare	to get something ready	prepararsi	to get oneself ready
provare	to try/practice/rehearse	provarsi	to try on clothes
ricordare*	to remember	ricordarsi	to remember something
ricordare di	to remember to do…	ricordarsi di	to remember to do…
sentire	to hear/to feel (sense of touch) to smell	sentirsi	to feel (emotions)
spostare	to move	spostarsi	to move oneself

*Incidentally, Romagnol dialect (from the Emiliano-Romangnolo region) for “I remember,” is “amarcord,” which is also the name of a famous Italian comedic film from the 1970s by the director Federico Fellini.

Italian Subjunctive Mood Practice:
Planning Your Italian Vacation

You Will Need to Know…
Italian Prepositions “a” and “in” for Places

In English, we go “to” a place or we are “in or “at” a place. In Italian, two prepositions are used to express both where we are going and where we are: “A” and “in” both can mean “to, in, and at.”

Note that in English, the preposition “to” is used to describe the motion of going somewhere, but once a person has arrived where they are going, the prepositions “in” or “at” are used.* So the English preposition changes based on whether one is going to or is in a place.

In Italian, the motion of going to or being in a place does not change preposition use. The preposition is selected depending on the noun that the preposition modifies.

The Italian prepositions are then often (but not always) linked with the Italian definite article (il, la, l’, lo, i, le, gli).

Try as I may, I cannot find a reason for the difference in Italian preposition use for each individual place, although in some cases the Italian use of prepositions seems to mirror British English, rather than American English (the British go “in hospital,” as do the Italians). I guess we have simplified things here in America, across the ocean from the land of our mother tongue!

So therefore, these Italian preposition/noun combinations just need to be memorized. Just link them to the actual place one is going to or one is in and this combination will not change!

See the table below:*

Do you want to go…		Are you…		Vuoi andare… Sei…
	home?		at home?		a casa?
	to a restaurant?		at/in the restaurant?		al ristorante?
	to a (coffee) bar?		at/in the (coffee) bar?		al bar?
	to a cafe?		at/in the cafe?		al café?
	to the museum?		at the museum?		al museo?
	to the movies?		at the movies?		al cinema?
	to the concert?		at the concert?		al concerto?
	to the show (performance)?		at the show?		allo spettacolo?
	to the show (exhibit)?		at the exhibit?		alla mostra?

	to a hospital?		at the hospital?		in ospidale?
	to a pizzeria?		at/in the pizzeria?		in pizzeria?
	to the piazza?		at/in the piazza?		in piazza?
	to church?		at/in church?		in chiesa?
	to the beach?		at the beach?		in spiaggia?
	to the sea?		at the seaside?		al mare?
	to the mountains?		in the mountains?		in montagna?
	to the country?		in the country?		in campagna?

*You will notice from this list that the use of the English prepositions “in” and “at” is also a bit idiomatic. To my mind, and I am sure this can be debated, when someone is surrounded by 4 walls or are in some way completely surrounded, they are “in” a place.

An English speaker is always “at home.” If a person has just arrived, or is standing outside the door of a new place, they are “at” this place. If one then wants to emphasize that they have settled down into this new place, i.e. have a table at a restaurant, the preposition “in” then comes into play.

Also, if a person is involved in what is happening at a particular place, they are “in” it; a viewer is “at” a show, but a performer is “in” the show. And, of course, we all stand “in”‘ line before the show or another event begins!

These explanations may be a bit more complicated than needed, though, and I am sure these prepositions are thought of as interchangeable in many situations by English speakers.

Italian Subjunctive Mood Practice:
Planning Your Italian Vacation

You Will Need to Know…
Italian Preposition “di” for Time of Day

Sometimes it is necessary to emphasize the time of day in Italian, as in morning, afternoon, evening, or night. This is simple in Italian! Just combine the preposition “di” with the time of day: di mattina, di pomeriggio, di sera, or di notte.

Dopo che andiamo in chiesa di mattina, dobbiamo andare a casa loro.
After we go to church in the morning, we should go to their house.

Here are some examples where the time of day is added after stating the numerical time for clarity or for emphasis. (Notice that the Italian language uses a comma rather than a colon to separate the hours from the minutes.)

1,00 (AM) È l’una di mattina.

1,00 (PM) È l’una di pomeriggio.

6,00 (PM) Sono le sei di sera.

10,00 (PM) Sono le dieci di notte.

Italian Subjunctive Mood Practice:
Planning Your Italian Vacation

You Will Need to Know…
How to Use the Italian Infinitive Verb
as a Noun

Every now and then, one needs to use a verb as a noun. In this situation, for the English language, we use the gerund, or “-ing” form, of our verb. For instance, take the sentence, “Reading is fun.” The very first word is the “-ing” form of the verb “to read,” but in this case, the verb is actually the subject of the sentence and is doing the work of a noun!

In the Italian language, the infinitive form of the verb is used when a verb takes the place of a noun. For the present tense, only the infinitive form of the verb is needed. For the past tense, the helping verb will be in the infinitive form before the past participle.

In the email example in this blog post, this occurs in three sentences, which are reprinted below.

Leggere la tua ultima email mi rende molto contenta!
Reading your last email makes me very happy!

Dopo avere letto la tua email mi sono resa conto che mi mancano molto le montagne dell’Abruzzo.
After having read your email, I realized that I really miss the Abruzzo mountains.

Mi ricordo di avere cenato molto bene a casa di zia Rosa!
I remember having eaten very well at Aunt Rose’s house!

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Italian Subjunctive Practice: Planning Your Italian Vacation

Italian Subjunctive Mood Practice: Emailing Italian Families

October 9, 2016Let's Learn Italian!About Italian, About Italian language, andare a trovare, come to visit in Italian, Command forms with fare, Email Italian, go to visit in Italian, Italian adverb "ci", Italian Language, Italian school system, Italian Subjunctive Mode, Italian subjunctive mood, Italian Travel, Language learning, learn Italian, Learn Italian language, Stella Lucente, venire a trovare, Visit in Italian, visitareKathryn Occhipinti

Italian Subjunctive Mood Practice: Emailing Italian Families

Use our Italian practice tips to write your own Italian email! Revisit the Italian subjunctive mood when writing emails!

Italian Practice: Emailing Italian Families

Can you speak Italian? By now, many of you have passed the beginning stages of learning how to speak Italian and can read and comprehend quite a bit of the language. Meraviglioso!

But have you tried to take the next step to communicate in Italian fluently? Do you know the usual Italian greetings and salutations to use in an email? Can you use the subjunctive mood correctly when writing an email? As everyone knows, email is now an integral part of daily communication all over the world. For Italy, this means that the subjunctive mood is important again in daily life!

For our first Italian practice email using the subjunctive, we will follow the story of Caterina and Francesca, two Italian cousins who are living in different cities and trying to reconnect. Then we will present information about Italian greetings and salutations used in informal and formal types of written communication in Italy. We will describe how to use the verbs trovare, venire, and visitare to describe visiting people and places, how to use the Italian adverb “ci,” and how to make command forms with the verb fare. We will also talk about Italian reflexive verbs of self movement. Finally, we will compare the American and Italian school systems that play such a large part in everyday family life in America and Italy today.

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Italian Practice: Email and the Italian Subjunctive Mood

A note about the Italian subjunctive mood: to express complex feelings in Italian correctly, it is important to use the Italian subjunctive mood. Using the subjunctive mood is difficult for English speakers, because we only rarely use this tense in English, and it’s something that I am always working on! This is the first blog post in the “Italian Practice” series that focuses on how to use the Italian subjunctive mood, or “il congiuntivo,” when writing an email to your family.

To review how to express one’s feelings using the subjunctive mood and how to conjugate the subjunctive mood in the present tense, see our Speak Italian Subjunctive series.

Enjoy the first blog post in this series, “Italian Practice: Emailing Italian Families.”
—Kathryn Occhipinti

Italian Practice Email: All about… Family

How many phrases that use the subjunctive mood can you pick out of the following emails? Hint: these phrases usually include the word “che.” Look for the underlined phrases for help! And beware those phrases that sound like they should take the subjunctive but do not—these can also be found in the emails below!

Remember these examples as “anchors” in your knowledge for when you try to speak Italian and try out the subjunctive mood in your next Italian conversation!

Italian Practice Email: All about… Family
An Email to Francesca

Cara cugina Francesca,
Dear Cousin Frances,

Quanto tempo è passato da quando ti sei trasferita dall’Abruzzo a Roma!
How much time has passed since you have moved from Abruzzo to Rome!

Spero che tu stia bene.
I hope that you are well.

Spero anche che tuo marito e i tuoi figli stiano bene.
I also hope that your husband and children are well.

È peccato che tu e la tua famiglia vi siate trasferiti cosi lontano da vostra cugina che vi vuole bene.
It is a shame that you and your family have moved so far from your cousin that cares for you all so much.

Come sta la piccola Eleonora?
How is little Eleanor?

Penso che Eleonora debba essere cresciuta molto.
I’m thinking that Eleanor must have grown a lot.

Penso che Eleonora abbia dieci anni, ora, no?
I think that Eleanor is 10 years old, now, no?

Mi sembra che Eleonora debba essere una bella ragazzina ora!
It seems to me that Eleanor must be a beautiful little girl now!

E Giovanni, come sta?
And how is John?

È probabile che Giovanni sia alto e forte e un bravo ragazzo!
I bet that (probably) John is tall and strong and a very good boy!

È incredibile che il tempo passi cosi in fretta!
It’s incredible that the time has passed so quickly!

Si dicono in inglese che “il tempo vola,” e per me è vero!
They say in English that “time flies,” and for me, it is true!

Immagino che tuo marito sia contento con il suo lavoro a Roma.
I imagine that your husband is happy with his job in Rome.

Ma non sono sicura che tu sia felice di vivere là.
But I am not sure that you are happy living there.

Forse tu sei felice di vivere in una città per un po’ di tempo, ma lo so che ti piace molto la campagna.
Maybe you are happy living for a little bit in the city, but I know that you like the country a lot.

Per me, è molto difficile vivere senza di te, mia cara cugina.
For me, it is very difficult living without you, my dearest cousin.

Mi manchi molto!
I miss you so much!

Vorrei che tu venga a trovarmi in Abruzzo quest’estate.
I would like you to come and visit me in Abruzzo this summer.

Pensaci e fammi sapere. Mandami un’email.
Think about it and let me know. Send me an email.

Spero che tu abbia un buon weekend!
I hope that you have a good weekend!

Scrivimi presto!
Write me soon!

Baci e abbracci,
Kisses and hugs,

Caterina
Kathy

Italian Practice Email: All about… Family
A Reply Email to Caterina

Cara cugina Caterina,
Dear Cousin Kathy,

Ero molto contenta di sentire le tue notizie.
I was very happy to hear from you.

La mia famiglia sta molto bene, ed Eleonora e Giovanni sono cresciuti molto in questi due anni che siamo stati a Roma.
My family is very well, and Eleanor and John have grown in these last two years that we have been in Rome.

Eleanora fa il quinto anno di scuola elementare e Giovanni fa il primo anno di liceo.
Eleanor is in the 5th grade, and John is in his first year of high school.

Tutti e due sono bravi figli ed io e mio marito Giuseppe siamo molto orgogliosi di loro.
Both are good children, and my husband Joe and I are very proud of them.

Ho una buona notizia!
I have good news!

Sono libera di viaggiare in Abruzzo quest’estate in agosto per Ferragosto!
I am free to travel to Abruzzo this summer in August for the Ferragosto holiday!

Mi auguro che tu abbia tempo disponibile questo Ferragosto.
I hope that you have time free this Ferragosto.

Tu mi manchi molto, mia bella cugina!
I miss you very much, my beautiful cousin!

Noi siamo certi di avere una buona visita.
We are certain to have a wonderful visit!

Restiamo in contatto e spero di vederti presto!
Stay in contact, and I hope to see you soon!

Ti voglio molto bene.
I care for you very much.

Tanti baci!
Lots of kisses!

Francesca
Frances

Italian Practice Email: What You Will Need to Know…

Italian Practice: Emailing Italian Families

You Will Need to Know…
Phrases That Take the Italian Subjunctive Mood

Verbs in Italian can have a subjunctive mood that is used to express doubt, uncertainty, desire, or a feeling.

Certain phrases are commonly used to start a sentence in order to introduce the subjunctive mood, and these initial phrases will be in the indicative tense (the “usual” present or past tense). These initial phrases imply uncertainty and trigger the subjunctive mood in the phrase to follow. The phrase that follows will then describe what the uncertainty is about. These introductory phrases usually end with the word che, which means that. Che may also be the ending of the last word used in the introductory phrase!

Note that the simple present or past tenses can also be used after the introductory phrases listed below, rather than the subjunctive mood, if you are speaking about a fact or something that you believe to be true. This use will make perfect sense to the Italian listener, although the subjective mood is also commonly used. Notice that when speaking about the past using these phrases, the imperfetto form of the past tense is usually used.

To review how to express one’s feelings using the subjunctive mood and how to conjugate the subjunctive mood in the present tense, see our Speak Italian Subjunctive series.

Italian Practice: Emailing Italian Families

You Will Need to Know…
Italian Greetings for Family Emails, Texts, and Letters

Now that email has become an essential way to communicate, it is important to know how to address family, friends, and work colleagues in writing. In effect, that old-fashioned way of communicating—the letter—has been resurrected in electronic form! Here are some suggestions for greetings and salutations in Italian, depending on the formality of the situation.

For family and friends, most Italian emails will begin with “Cara,” for females or “Caro” for males, meaning “Dear.” This greeting is, of course, followed by the first name of the person to whom the email is addressed. Because caro is an adjective, the ending can be modified to match the gender and number of the person it refers to, just as other adjectives are. So cara(e) is used before a female singular/plural person(s) and caro(i) before male singular/plural person(s). Carissimo(a,i,e) is a common variation and means “Dearest.” Many times, no greeting at all is used for close family and friends who communicate frequently.

A note about texting, which is even more informal than email, because texts are usually made only to friends: there is much more variation if a greeting is used, and there are many creative ways to greet someone by text in Italian. One of the most common text greetings is probably “ciao” for “hi” or “bye.” There are many common variations, such as “ciao bella” for a female, “ciao bello” for a male, or simply “bella” or “bellezza” for a female, all meaning “hello beautiful/handsome.” If texting in the day or evening, “Buon giorno” or “Buona sera” may be used as well, meaning, “Good morning/Good day” or “Good evening.”

A text is still not acceptable in most situations for a first or a formal communication, although email is now often the preferred way of establishing an initial contact in business.

Italian Practice: Emailing Italian Families

You Will Need to Know…
Italian Greetings for Formal Emails and Letters

Letters are still frequently used in Italy. Several common salutations are used when writing a formal email in Italian. These salutations have been established over many centuries of formal communication.

A formal Italian letter will commonly begin with the Italian word for “Gentle,” which is “Gentile,” followed by a title, such as Mr., Mrs., or Miss, and then a surname. For example: Gentile Signor* Verde or Gentilissima Signora Russo. The Italian word “Egregio,” which used to mean “Esquire,” is still commonly used in very formal business communications, but in these instances, it is translated as “Dear.” “Pregiatissimo” is the most formal type of greeting and is similar to the English phrase “Dear Sir.” This greeting is only rarely used in Italy today.

This all seems simple enough, although a typical formal Italian greeting is often abbreviated and can seem a bit off-putting unless one is fluent in the abbreviations as well. Our salutations above are often written as follows: Gentile Sig. Verde and Gen.ma Sig.na Russo. The table in the next section lists the most commonly used abbreviations.

Also, in Italian, even more than in English, if one holds a professional title, such as “doctor” or “lawyer,” this title is always used as the form of address when speaking and in writing. In fact, those who have attended an Italian university or have an important job title are usually addressed by other Italians as “dottore” or “dottoressa.” A medical doctor is addressed the same way but is known specifically as “un medico” (used for men and women).

Italian Practice: Emailing Italian Families

You Will Need to Know…
Commonly Used Italian Abbreviations for Business Greetings

Avv.	Avvocato	Lawyer
Dott.	Dottore	Doctor (male or female)
Dott.ssa	Dottoressa	Female Doctor
Egr.	Egregio	Dear (Esquire)
	Ingegnere	Engineer
Gent.mi	Gentilissimi(e)	Dear (plural) Very Kind
Gent.mo	Gentilissimo(a)	Dear (singular) Very Kind
Preg.	Pregiatissimo	Dear
Sig.	Signor	Mister (Mr.)
Sig.na	Signorina	Miss
Sig.ra	Signorma	Misses (Mrs.)
Sig.ri	Signori	Mr. and Mrs./Messers
Spett.	Spettabile	Messers

*When signore is followed by someone’s first or last name, in writing and when addressing someone directly, the “e” from signore is dropped to form signor.

Italian Practice: Emailing Italian Families

You Will Need to Know:
Italian Salutations for Emails, Texts, and Letters

After we’ve written our email, text, or formal letter, how should we sign off? As you can imagine, this is very different depending on how close the two correspondents are. For two friends, the typical spoken salutations, “ciao” and “ci vediamo,” are commonly used for emails and texts, as are the many idiomatic expressions, such as “a presto” or “a dopo.”

For those who are close friends or family, one may send kisses as “baci,” and sometimes hugs, “abbracci,” as we do in English. You can imagine that there are many variations on this theme, such as “un bacione” for “a big kiss.” “Un bacio” or “tanti baci” are other variations and mean “a kiss” and “many kisses.” There is one big difference between salutations in English and Italian, though: Italians normally do not sign off with the word “Love,” as in “Love, Kathy.”

For business, the word “Saluti” is generally used in closing to mean “Regards.” One can also give “Un Saluto” or “Tanti Saluti.” “Cordalimente” means “Yours Truly.” “Cordali saluti” or “Distinti Saluti” are particularly polite, meaning “Kind Regards” and “Best Regards.” “Sinceramente” means “Sincerely” but is not as often used in closing an email or letter.

Commonly Used Familiar Italian Salutations

Ciao	Bye
Ci vediamo	Good bye (Until we see each other again.)
A presto!	See you soon!
A dopo!	See you later!
Baci	Kisses
Un bacio	A kiss
Un bacione	A big kiss
Tanti baci	Lots of kisses
Baci e Abbracci	Kisses and hugs

Commonly Used Formal Italian Salutations

Saluti	Regards
Un Saluto	Regards
Cordalimente	Yours truly
Cordali Saluti	Kind regards
Distinti Saluti	Best regards
Tanti Saluti	Many regards
Sinceramente	Sincerely

Italian Practice: Emailing Italian Families

You Will Need to Know…
How to Use Trovare, Trovarsi and Visitare

Trovare means “to find” something.

When trovare is combined with the verb andare in the phrase “andare a trovare,” the meaning changes into “to go to visit” someone. An example would be, “Vado a trovare mia mamma,” which of course means, “I go to visit my mother.”

Similarly, when trovare is combined with the verb venire in the phrase “venire a trovare,” the meaning changes into “to come to visit” someone. In the email we have just read, Caterina writes, “Vorrei che tu venga a trovarmi in Abruzzo quest’estate.” She adds “mi” to the end of the verb trovare in order to specify the person who is being visited.

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Visitare means to visit or to see a place. For example, “Molte persone visitano l’Italia.” “Many people visit Italy.”

In a formal letter, one might use the phrase, “invitare a visitare,” to invite someone, to be a guest as in, “Vi invitiamo a visitare il nostro blog…” for, ” We kindly invite you to visit our blog.”

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Let’s go back and explore a few more interesting points about the verb trovare. Trovare can also mean “to meet by chance,” or “to run into” someone, as we would say in English. Trovare sometimes means “to think/consider” and is also used to mean “to notice” in some expressions. Trovarsi is a reflexive verb that is used to describe “finding oneself” in certain situations or in a certain place.

andare a trovare	to go to visit with/to look in on/to look up
venire a trovare	to come to visit with
cercare di trovare	to try to find
trovare per caso	to happen on/to happen upon/to come across
torvare i mezzi	to find means
trovare conforto	to take comfort
trovare informazioni su	to find information (something) on
trovare la propria strada	to make your way/to take the right road
trovare la risposta	to find the answer
trovare la soluzione	to find the solution
trovare il tempo per fare	to get around to doing something
trovare il giusto equilibrio	to strike a balance
trovare (qualcosa) divertente	to find (something) amusing
trovare qualcosa	to consider something
trovare un modo	to find a way
Dove si trova?	Where is she/he/it located?
Si trova in…	(He/she/it) is located in…
Non mi trovo bene con..	I don’t get on well with…
Troviamoci dopo cena.	Let’s meet (each other) after dinner.

Italian Practice: Emailing Italian Families

You Will Need to Know:
How to Use the Italian Adverb “Ci”

The phrases c’è and ci sono mean there is and there are respectively. Ci can also be used to mean here or there when referring to a specific location. The location is either understood by the speakers or will have already have been mentioned in the conversation, and ci will be used in a reply to make the conversation flow more smoothly. In these instances, the location will be introduced by a preposition (a, in, su, da) and ci will replace both the preposition and the place when given in the reply.

Ci is placed before the conjugated verb. With helping verbs dovere, potere, or volere, ci can be placed before the helping verb or attached to the infinitive.

Non ci voglio più stare.	(I) don’t want to stay here anymore.

Vai in pizzeria stasera?	(Are) (you fam.) going to a pizzeria tonight?
No, non ci vado.	No, (I’m) not going there.
Ci sarò.	I’ll be there.

Vuoi venire a casa mia?	(Do) (you fam.) want to come to my house?
No, non ci voglio venire.	No, (I) don’t want to come there.
No, non voglio venirci.	No, (I) don’t want to come there.

Ci is frequently used as an indirect object to reply to certain questions regarding what someone believes in. “Credere a…?” which means, “Do you believe in…?” is one of the most commonly used phrases of this type. In this case, ci replaces the phrase that is believed in. The meaning of ci would be, “in it” or “about it.”

Ci is also used as an indirect object to reply to certain questions regarding what someone thinks about. “Pensare a…?” can mean, “What do you think about…?” In this case, ci replaces the phrase that is believed in. The meaning of ci would be, “in it” or “about it.”

In other contexts, the verb pensare can be used to ask if someone is going to care of something. The subject pronoun tu will come after the verb in these questions to signify intent. For the response, ci replaces the thing that is being taken care of and the subject pronoun io is placed after the verb to signify intent. The meaning of ci in both cases is, “in it” or “about it.” “Ci penso io,” can always be used when you want to say, “I’ll do it.” or “I’ll take care of it.”

Ci is also used as part of a command in order to ask someone to believe in or think about something that has been stated previously.

Credi alla religione cristiana?	(Do)(you fam.) believe in the Christian religion?
Si, ci credo.	Yes, (I) believe in it.

Pensi di trovare un nuovo lavoro?	Are you thinking of finding a new job?
Si, ci penso ancora.	Yes, I am still thinking about it.

Caterina, ci pensi tu a comprare il latte?	Kathy, are you going to take care of buying the milk?
Ci penso io.	I’ll take care of it.

Credici!	Believe in it! (familiar command)

Pensaci!	Think about it! (familiar command)

Ci mancherebbe.	Don’t mention it. (idiomatic expression)

Finally, if we want to combine ci with a direct object pronoun in a sentence to say ,“I’ve got it,” or “I’ve got them,” referring to something in our possession, the last letter-i of ci is changed to an e. This is an expression that follows the word order “ce – direct object – verb.” See below for how this works:

Do you have the ticket in your purse?	Hai il biglietto nella tua borsa?
Yes, I have it in my purse.	Si, l’ho nella borsa.
Yes, I’ve got it.	Si, ce l’ho.

Do you have the keys to your car?	Hai le chiavi alla tua macchina?
Yes, I have them.	Si, ce le ho.

Italian Practice: Emailing Italian Families

You will need to know:
Common Italian Command Forms with Fare

The verb fare, which means “to do,” or “to make,” often comes up when one person makes a direct request that another person do something. To ask for a favor politely, you could use the (by now, well-known) verb può with fare to make the phrase, “Può farmi un favore?” for, “Could you do me a favor?” But, more often, the familiar command form of this phrase is used; if one is instructing another person to do something, both people often know each other very well. Or, perhaps in the workplace, a superior is making a request of another worker. In this case, the commonly used phrase used would be, “Fammi un favore!” for, “Do me a favor! Piacere also works interchangeably with favore in this expression, as in, “Fammi un piacere!”

Notice that, when attaching an indirect object pronoun (except for gli), direct object pronoun, or a reflexive pronoun to the familiar command verb fa, the first letter of the pronoun is doubled. Below are some commonly used expressions which combine the command form of fare with their pronouns attached.

Fammi un favore!	Do me a favor!
Fammi un piacere!	Do me a favor!
Fatti vedere!	Come and see me! (lit. Make yourself seen!)
Fatti sentire!	Call me! (lit. Make yourself heard!)
Fallo!	Do it!

Fammi can also be used in an idiomatic way, with the meaning, “let me,” when followed by an infinitive verb, such as, “Fammi vedere,” for, “Let me see,” or, “Fammi chiamare,” for, “Let me call.”

Fammi vedere…	Let me see…
Fammi chiamare…	Let me call…

Two additional commonly used familiar commands with indirect object pronouns involve the verbs dire and dare:

Dimmi!	Tell me!
Dammi!	Give me!

Italian Practice: Emailing Italian Families

You Will Need to Know:
Italian Reflexive Verbs for Self-Movement

Italian reflexive verbs can be tricky for the English speaker because there are many situations where reflexive verbs are used in Italian but not in English. In these cases, we must learn to think in Italian! If we think in Italian, using reflexive verbs to refer to where one has moved to or from or to describe a change in one’s feelings does make sense.

Other activities of today’s “modern daily living” include interrupting one’s life at a certain location and starting life again in a different location. In this blog post, for instance, one cousin moves from Abruzzo to Rome. It makes sense, then, that the verb for the act of moving oneself is reflexive: trasferirsi, which can mean “to move (oneself) from town to another town” and “to transfer (oneself).”

Following this logic, the more general verbs “to move” (muoversi) or “to stop” (fermarsi) are also reflexive when they refer to an action that is being performed by a person.

Avvicinarsi a (to approach) alontanarsi da (to go away from/distance oneself from) are also included in the table below.

trasferirsi	to move (oneself), as in relocate towns; transfer towns or job
muoversi	to move (oneself) from one place to another
spostarsi	to move (oneself) from one place to another, relocate
dirigersi	to go over/head over somewhere
avvicinarsi a	to approach
allontarsi da	to go away from/distance oneself from
fermarsi	to stop (oneself)

Here is the way this works: if I have moved (myself) from one place to another and want to talk about this, I use the reflexive pronoun for myself (mi) with the conjugated verb for the first person, and then I say where I have moved. If someone else has moved (themselves), and I want to talk about this, I use the other corresponding reflexive pronoun (ti, si, ci, vi, si)/verb conjugation and then the location.

A few pointers are useful to remember.

When talking about a move we have made, we will be speaking in the past tense and will need to use the passato prossimo past tense verb form for this one-time event. All reflexive passato prossimo verbs use essere as the helping verb with the past participle. Females will need to change the passato prossimo ending from an “o” to “a” when referring to themselves.

Also, remember to leave out the subject pronoun (io, tu, Lei/lei/lui, noi, voi, loro) unless it is necessary for clarification.

Finally, remember how to use prepositions when talking about a location—“a” for cities and small islands and “in” for countries, regions, states in the United States, and large islands like Sicily.

All of this is easier than it sounds once you give it a try!

Mi sono trasferito(a) a New York.*
I moved/have moved to New York City.

Ti sei trasferito(a) nello stato di New York due anni fa, corretto?
You moved/have moved to New York State two years ago, correct?

Lui si è trasferito in America la settimana scorsa.
He moved/has moved to America last week.

Lei si è trasferita in America la settimana scorsa.
She moved/has moved to America last week.

Ci siamo trasferiti a Roma per un lavoro molto importante.
We transferred/were transferred to Rome for a very important job.

Vi siete trasferite alla scuola di Marymount Internazionale a Roma.
You all (girls) transferred/have transferred to the Marymount International School in Rome.

Loro si sono trasferiti in Italia per la loro società.
They transferred/have transferred to Italy for their company.

Finally, it should be noted that there are other ways of describing a person’s move from one place to another that do not involve reflexive verbs. To emphasize that one has moved from an old house to a new one, the phrase cambiare casa is used. To describe moving furniture from one’s old house to the new house (i.e., to move things), the nonreflexive verb traslocare is used.

Italian Practice: The Italian School System

The Italian school system is similar to the U.S. school system. School years are divided into primary, middle, and secondary, or “high” school years. College is referred to as “university,” and in the past, a “university degree” entailed 6 years of education, similar to a master’s degree in the United States. Some 4-year university degrees are now also available in Italy. Below is a comparative list of the American and Italian school systems with the number of years children spend in each level.

American and Italian School Systems

U.S. School	Years	Italian School	Years

Primary school	6	Scuola Elementare/la prima elementare	5
Middle school	2	Scuola Secondaria/Scuola Media/la prima media	3
High school	4	Liceo/il primo liceo	5

Italian Practice: Talking about the Italian School System

For elementary school, if a child is in the 1st through 5th years of school:

Anna va alla scuola elementare.
Anna goes to the grade school.

Anna è in prima (classe) elementare. (seconda, terza, quarta, quinta classe)
Anna fa il primo anno di scuola elementare. (secondo, terzo, quarto, quinto anno)
Anna is in the first year/1st grade of elementary school. (second, third, fourth, fifth year/2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th grade)

For middle school, if a child is in the 6th through 8th years of school:

Anna va alla scuola secondaria. or Anna va alla scuola media.
Anna goes to junior high school. or Anna goes to middle school.

Anna è in prima (classe) media. (seconda, terza classe)
Anna fa il primo anno di scuola media. (secondo, terzo anno)
Anna is in the first year/6th grade of middle school. (second, third year/7th, 8th grade)

For high school, if a child is in the 9th through 13th years of school, we can use similar phrases. Notice that there is no special title like “freshman, sophomore, junior, senior” for high school.

Anna va alla scuola superiore. or Anna va al liceo.
Anna goes to high school.

Anna è in prima (classe) liceo. (seconda, terza, quarta, quinta classe)
Anna fa il primo anno di liceo. (secondo, terzo, quarto, quinto anno)
Anna is in the first year/9th grade of high school. (second, third, fourth, fifth year/10th, 11th, 12th, 13th grade)

Italian Subjunctive Mood Practice: Emailing Italian Families

Italian Subjunctive (Part 3): Speak Italian!

July 17, 2016Let's Learn Italian!Conversational Italian, How to use the Italian subjunctive mode, How to use the Italian subjunctive mood, Italian Modal Verbs Subjunctive, Italian Subjunctive, Italian Subjunctive dovere, Italian Subjunctive Mode, Italian subjunctive mood, Italian subjunctive potere, Italian subjunctive volere, learn Italian, learn Italian free, Learn Italian language, Speak Italian, Stella LucenteKathryn Occhipinti

Italian Subjunctive (Part 3): Speak Italian!

The Italian subjunctive mood is easy to conjugate, but tricky to use!

Speak Italian: How to Use the Italian Subjunctive Mood

Can you speak Italian? By now, many of you have passed the beginning stages of learning to speak Italian and can read and comprehend quite a bit of the Italian language. Meraviglioso!

But have you tried to take the next step to speak Italian fluently? Can you use the Italian subjunctive mood in the correct situations? To express complex feelings in Italian correctly, it is important to use the Italian subjunctive mood. Using the subjunctive mood is difficult for English speakers, as we only rarely use this tense in English, and this is something that I am always working on! The blogs in the “Speak Italian” blog series will focus on how to conjugate and use the Italian subjunctive mood, or “il congiuntivo.”

Let’s take that giant step from simple beginning sentences to more complex and fluid sentences in Italian by using the subjunctive mood. In this segment, we will discuss how to express one’s needs in Italian and learn about other important introductory phrases and individual words that take the Italian subjunctive mood.

We will repeat the Italian conjugation of the subjunctive mood for the regular -are, -ere, and -ire verbs and then present the conjugation of the modal, or helping, verbs dovere, potere, and volere.

A review of the Italian subjunctive mood conjugations for the auxiliary verbs and for commonly used irregular verbs will complete this blog. Example sentences will follow!

Speak Italian: How to Use the Italian Subjunctive Mood

In each blog in the “Speak Italian” series about the Italian subjunctive mood (“il congiuntivo”), we will first present phrases that take the Italian subjunctive mood.

Then, we will review how to conjugate the Italian subjunctive mood.

Finally, we will present common phrases used in daily life that take the Italian subjunctive mood.

Remember these examples as “anchors” in your knowledge for when you must speak Italian and try out the subjunctive mood in your next Italian conversation!

Enjoy the third blog in this series, “Italian Subjunctive (Part 3): Speak Italian!”
—Kathryn Occhipinti

Speak Italian: How to Use the Italian Subjunctive Mood (Part 3)

Once Again… Phrases That Take the Italian Subjunctive Mood

Italian has a subjunctive mood that is used to express beliefs, thoughts, or hopes with the verbs credere, pensare, and sperare.

The subjunctive mood is also said to “open up” a conversation to discussion about a particular topic by expressing doubt, uncertainty, desire, or a feeling.

Certain phrases are commonly used to start a sentence in order to introduce the subjunctive mood, and these initial phrases will be in the indicative tense (the “usual” present or past tense). The subjunctive mood is also used with the conditional tense, but this will be the topic of later blogs. These initial phrases imply uncertainty and trigger the subjunctive mood in the phrase to follow.

In our first blog about the Italian subjunctive mood, we learned that these initial phrases fall into several groups. We discussed Groups 1 through Group 6.

In our second blog about the Italian subjunctive mood, we discussed Groups 8 and 9.

These groups are again listed below for review.

In this blog, we will discuss phrases that express feelings (any emotion, fear, or surprise) in Group 9 and describe the situations in which they are used to introduce the subjunctive mood.

We will also now discuss Group 10, in which we list individual words that refer to the purpose or timing of an action that must be followed by the subjunctive mood. These words are part of “adverbial clauses” that modify verbs. As such, they are often used in the phrase that completes a sentence, but can also be found at the beginning of a sentence. Many of these words are easy to recognize since they end in -che.

Finally, Groups 11 and 12 are individual adjectives or pronouns that can introduce another clause and must be followed by the subjective mood, which we will discuss in blogs to follow.

Hypothetical Phrases are mentioned at the end of our list, to complete our discussion of specific words or phrases that can be used to introduce the subjunctive mood.

Groups 1-9: “Noun Clauses”

Group 10: “Adverbial Clauses”

Groups 11 and 12: “Adjective/Pronoun Clauses”

1. 1. Phrases that use the verbs credere (to believe), pensare (to think), and sperare (to hope). These verbs use the pattern: [verb + di + infinitive verb] to describe the beliefs, thoughts, or hopes that one has. When the subject in the introductory phrase is not the same as the subject in the subjunctive clause that follows, the pattern changes to: [verb + che + subjunctive verb].*
  2. Impersonal constructions that begin with, “It is…” such as, “È possibile che…”
  3. Phrases that express a doubt, such as, “I don’t know…” or “Non so che…”
  4. Phrases that express suspicion, such as, ” I suspect that…” or “Sospetto che…”
  5. Phrases that express uncertainty, such as, “It seems to me…” or “Mi sembra che…” and ” To wonder if…” or “Chiedersi se… “
  6. Impersonal verbs followed by the conjunction che, such as, “Basta che…” “It is enough that,” or “Si dice che…” “They say that…
  7. Phrases that use the verbs volere, desiderare, chiedere, esigere when the subject in the introductory phrase is not the same as the subject in the clause that follows. In this situation, these verbs will be followed by che.
  8. Phrases that use the verbs piacere and dispiacere when the subject in the introductory phrase is not the same as the subject in the clause that follows. In this situation, these verbs will be followed by che.
  9. Phrases that express feelings (any emotion, fear, surprise) and use the pattern: [avere, essere, or augurarsi verb + di + infinitive verb]. When the subject in the introductory phrase is not the same as the subject in the clause that follows, the pattern changes to: [avere, essere, or augurarsi verb + che + subjunctive verb].
  10. Sentences that begin with words that end in –ché, or complex conjunctions that end with che: affinché, perché (so as, so that, in order that), purché (as long as, provided that, only if)**, a meno che, senza che (unless), può darsi che (it may be possible that, possibly, maybe), prima che (before that). Also the many words that mean although/even though, one of which ends in -che: benché (also sebenne, malgrado, nonostante).***
  11. Sentences that begin with adjectives or pronouns that include the idea of any in a description of a person, place or thing: qualsiasi, qualunque (any), chiunque (whoever), dovunque (anywhere).
  12. Sentences that begin with adjectives or pronouns that include the idea of nothing or only in a description of a person, place, or thing: niente che, nulla che (nothing that), nessuno che (nobody that), l’unico, il solo, a che (the only one that).

Hypothetical Phrases: Phrases that begin with se (if) in certain situations. Phrases that begin with come se (as if), magari (if only), and ammesso che (assuming that).

As usual, there is a summary table at the end of each descriptive section that shows how to use these additional groups that take the subjunctive mood in Italian. The present tense phrases are in the first two columns and the past tense phrases in the last two columns. Notice that the imperfetto form of the past tense is given in our table for brevity, but the passato prossimo form of the past tense can also be used, depending on the situation. Use of the past tense forms will be the topic of later blogs.

Points to remember about the subjunctive mood:

We now see from Group 9 that some words or phrases already have -ché or che integrated into the word itself. In these cases, che is not repeated. The clause that follows our introductory phrase will then describe what the uncertainty is about.

**solo se also means only if but does NOT take the subjunctive mode.

*** anche se also means even though/if but does NOT take the subjunctive mode.

Expressing One’s Feelings with “Di” and “Che” and the Italian Subjunctive Mood

Phrases Used to Express Feelings with “Di” in Italian

avere bisogno di	to have need of	Ho bisogno di… riposare.

avere paura di	to be afraid/have fear of	Ho paura di… guidare.

avere voglia di	to feel like	Ho voglia di… mangiare una pizza.

essere certo di	to be certain of	Sono certo(a) di… ricordare il tuo nome.

essere sicuro di	to be certain of	Sono sicuro(a) di… ricordare questo posto.

essere felice di	to be happy to	Sono felice di… incontrare mio cugino oggi.

essere fortunato di	to be lucky to	Sono fortunato(a) di… mangiare questa cena.

essere libero di	to be free to	Sono libero(a) di… viaggiare.

essere stanco di	to be tired of	Sono stanco(a) di… lavorare.

temere di…	to be afraid of	Temo di… essere in ritardo.

augurarsi di…	to wish/to hope (of)	Mi auguro di… fare una buona vacanza.

How to Use the Phrase “Avere bisogno di…” in Italian

Before we go on to discuss more complex uses of the phrases in the table above, here is a brief description of how to use the very popular phrase, “ho bisogno di…” which means, “I need…” Any beginning student of Italian no doubt has come across this phrase many times in general conversation and has already used it to express what he/she wants.

While I was learning how to use the subjunctive mood properly, I took the opportunity to learn how to use “ho bisogno di” properly as well. After many question and answer sessions with native Italian speakers, here is what I’ve found out about the different uses of this phrase in English and Italian.

First, use of the phrase “ho bisogno di” is limited to describing a need one has for a person, a thing (something) or a physical need. Remember to conjugate the verb avere used in this phrase (“ho” is the io form of avere) if someone else besides you needs something. Also, leave out the word “di,” which means “of” in this phrase when it is at the end of the sentence.

The phrases “Mi serve…” and “Mi servono…” can also mean, “I need…” The conjugation is like that of piacere. (See below)

If a person needs to do something, but it is also necessary that he does it – he has to do it – then the verb dovere is used. See some examples in the table below:

avere bisogno di	to have need of…

	…a person	Ho bisogno *di…* te.

	…a thing/ something	Ho bisogno *di…* una macchina nuova.
		Ho bisogno *di…* prendere una vacanza.

	…a physical need	Ho bisogno *di…* riposarmi.

Mi serve…	I need… (one thing)	Mi serve 1 millione di euro.
Mi servono…	I need… (many things)	Mi servono tante cose.

dovere	for what you have to do (and need to do)	Devo cucinare il pranzo ogni sera.

When we come to more complex sentences, and the subject wants to express what he/she wants another person to do, the phrase “ho bisogno di” is not used. In other words, if I want someone to do something, I must use the verb voglio, with the subjunctive, as in, “Voglio che tu…” This was an important point for me to learn, as in English I am constantly asking my children or family to do things by saying, “I need you to…”

For instance, take the sentence, “I need you to take care of the cats when I am on vacation.” I am not sure if this phrase “I need you to…” is used commonly in other parts of America, but it has become a habitual use in the Northeast and Midwest. The Italian translation would be, “Voglio che tu ti prenda cura dei gatti quando io sono in vacanza.” So, to use the phrase “ho bisogno di” we must really learn how to think in Italian!

Enjoy some more examples for how to use our phrases to express a need or want in Italian, and then create your own!

Ho bisogno di un grande abbraccio!	I need a big hug!
Abbracci e baci sono due cose di cui ho bisogno!	Hugs and kisses are two things that I need!
Non mi serve niente.	I don’t need anything.
Non mi serve nient’altro.	I don’t need anything else.
Mi serve di più caffè.	I need more coffee.
Devo andare al mercato.	I need to/have to go to the (outdoor) market.

Non abbiamo bisogno di giorni migliori,

ma di persone che rendono migliori i nostri giorni!

We don’t need to have better days,

instead, people who make our days better!

Phrases Used to Express Feelings with “Che” and the Italian Subjunctive Mood

Phrases Used to Express Feelings with “Che” and the Italian Subjunctive Mode

Present Tense Subjunctive Phrase Group 8		Past Tense Subjunctive Phrase Group 8
Ho bisogno… che tu	I need… that you* (This expression is not commonly used in Italian to tell another person what needs to be done; voglio* che is used instead.)	Avevo bisogno… che tu	I needed… that you* (This expression is not commonly used in Italian to tell another person what needs to be done; volevo* che is used instead.)

Ho paura… che tu	I am afraid… that you	Avevo paura… che tu	I was afraid… that you

Ho voglia di… *	I feel like… * *(always used with the same subject +di in both phrases)	Avevo voglia… *	I felt like…* *(always used with the same subject + di in both phrases)

Non sono certo(a)… che tu	I am not certain… that you	Non ero certo… che tu	I was not certain… that you

Non sono sicuro(a)… che tu	I am not certain… that you	Non ero sicuro… che tu	I was not certain… that you

Sono felice… che tu	I am happy… that you	Ero felice… che tu	I was happy… that you

Sono fortunato(a)… che tu	I am happy… that you	Ero fortunato(a)… che tu	I was fortunate… that you

Sono libero(a) di… *	I am free… * *(always used with the same subject +di in both phrases)	Ero libero(a)… *	I was free… * *(always used with the same subject +di in both phrases)

Sono stanco(a) di…	I am tired…* *(always used with the same subject +di in both phrases)	Ero stanco(a)… che tu	I was tired…* *(always used with the same subject +di in both phrases)

Temo… che tu	I am afraid… that you	Temevo… che tu	I was afraid… that you

Mi auguro… che tu	I hope… that you	Mi auguravo… che tu	I hoped… that you

Adverbial Clauses

Use of the Italian Subjunctive Mood

The final group of words we will discuss in this blog are called “adverbial clauses” and are given in the table. These words take the subjunctive mood when used to start a sentence, and use of these adverbial clauses implies that a second phrase is necessary to complete the sentence.

Only the most commonly used have been given in the table. For a more complete list, see the list in the first section of this blog.

Phrases Used to Introduce the Subjunctive Mood — Adverbial Clauses

Present Tense Subjunctive Phrase Groups 9, 10, 11
Prima che	Before that ( Prima che is used to mean “before that” and followed by the subjunctive mood when the subject in the first phrase is different from the subject in the second phrase; use Prima di + infinitive when the subject of both phrases is the same.)
Benché, Sebbene	Although, Even though, If
Può darsi che	It may be possible that, Possibly, Maybe
Affinché	So as, So that, In order that
Perché	So that (Perché is only used in the subjunctive mood when it means “so that.” Other meanings of perché include “why” and “because” and in these cases, the subjunctive mood is not used.)
Purché	As long as, Provided that, Only if

Finally, our usual reminder:

DO NOT USE THE SUBJUNCTIVE WITH THE FOLLOWING THREE PHRASES!

Forse = Perhaps

Per me = For me

Secondo me = According to me

And, two more phrases we can now add that DO NOT take the subjunctive mood:

Solo se = Only if

Anche se = Even though/if

Speak Italian: The Present Tense Subjunctive Mood (Part 3)

How to Conjugate the Italian Subjunctive Mood Present Tense for -are, -ere, and -ire Verbs

A review from the second blog in this series:

To change any regular Italian infinitive verb into the present subjunctive mood, first drop the final -are, -ere, or -ire to create the stem. Then add the endings given in the first table below to the stem that has been created. Examples for each verb type are given in the second table below.*

The word che is included in parentheses in the subject pronoun column as a reminder that these verb forms typically are introduced with the conjunction che. Also, use the subject pronoun in your sentence after che for clarity, since the endings for the singular forms are all the same!

Practice the subjunctive verbs out loud by saying che, the subject pronoun and then the correct verb form that follows!

Subjunctive Mood – Present Tense

Subject Pronoun	-are ending	-ere ending	-ire ending
io	i	a	a
tu	i	a	a
Lei/lei/lui	i	a	a

noi	iamo	iamo	iamo
voi	iate	iate	iate
loro	ino	ano	ano

	Tornare (to return)	Vendere (to sell)	Partire (to leave)
*(che)* io	torni	venda	parta
*(che)* tu	torni	venda	parta
*(che)* Lei/lei/lui	torni	venda	parta

*(che)* noi	torniamo	vendiamo	partiamo
*(che)* voi	torniate	vendiate	partiate
*(che)* loro	tornino	vendano	partano

*(The stressed syllable for the example verbs has been underlined in the table above.)

When pronouncing the subjunctive verbs, the stress will fall in the same place as in the conjugated verb forms for the present tense. This will be in the beginning of the verb (first or second syllable) for the io, tu, Lei/lei, lui, and loro forms, and one syllable to the right (second or third syllable) for the noi and voi forms.
Notice that all of the singular subjunctive endings (io, tu, Lei/lei lui) are the same for each infinitive form of the verb.
Also, all the endings for the -ere and -ire verbs are identical in the first person!
The noi and voi forms are the same for all infinitive verb forms as well.
The noi form is identical to the present tense!

How to Conjugate the Italian Subjunctive Mood Present Tense for the Modal Verbs

Here are the Italian present subjunctive forms for the modal verbs. If you remember, modal verbs are auxiliary verbs that are also called “helping verbs.” These verbs are often used in the subjunctive mood in written and spoken Italian. As you no doubt recall, these three helping verbs give additional information about the main verb in the phrase. In the subjunctive mood, volere can also be translated as “to need.”

Dovere – to have to/must – Present Subjunctive Mood

*(che)* io	debba	I have to/must
*(che)* tu	debba	you (familiar) have to/must
*(che)* Lei *(che)* lei/lui	debba	you (polite) have to/must she/he has to/must

*(che)* noi	dobbiamo	we have to/must
*(che)* voi	dobbiate	you all have to/must
*(che)* loro	debbano	they have to/must

Potere – to be able (to)/can – Present Subjunctive Mood

*che)* io	possa	I am able to/can
*(che)* tu	possa	you (familiar) are able to/can
*(che)* Lei *(che)* lei/lui	possa	you (polite) are able to/can she/he is able to/can

*(che)* noi	possiamo	we are able to/can
*(che)* voi	possiate	you all are able to/can
*(che)* loro	possano	they are able to/can

Volere – to want/ to need – Present Subjunctive mode

*(che)* io	voglia	I want/need
*(che)* tu	voglia	you (familiar) want/need
*(che)* Lei *(che)* lei/lui	voglia	you (polite) want/need she/he wants/needs

*(che)* noi	vogliamo	we want/need
*(che)* voi	vogliate	you all want/need
*(che)* loro	vogliano	they want/need

The Subjunctive Mood – Irregular Present Tense
Commonly Used Verbs

A review from the second blog in this series:

Here are the irregular Italian present subjunctive forms for six commonly used verbs in Italian. It may be useful to commit these forms to memory, as these verbs are often used in the subjunctive mood in written and spoken Italian. Notice that the translation is the simple present tense in English.

Andare – to go – Present Subjunctive Mood

*(che)* io	vada	I go
*(che)* tu	vada	you (familiar) go
*(che)* Lei *(che)* lei/lui	vada	you (polite) go she/he goes

*(che)* noi	andiamo	we go
*(che)* voi	andiate	you all go
*(che)* loro	vadano	they go

Dare – to give – Present Subjunctive Mood

*(che)* io	dia	I give
*(che)* tu	dia	you give
*(che)* Lei *(che)* lei/lui	dia	you give she/he gives

*(che)* noi	diamo	we give
*(che)* voi	diate	you all give
*(che)* loro	diano	they give

Dire – to say/ to tell – Present Subjunctive Mood

*(che)* io	dica	I say/tell
*(che)* tu	dica	you (familiar) say/tell
*(che)* Lei *(che)* lei/lui	dica	you (polite) say/tell she/he says/tells

*(che)* noi	diciamo	we say/tell
*(che)* voi	diciate	you all say/tell
*(che)* loro	dicano	they say/tell

Fare – to do/ to make– Present Subjunctive Mood

*(che)* io	faccia	I do/ make
*(che)* tu	faccia	you (familiar) do/make
*(che)* Lei *(che)* lei/lui	faccia	you (polite) do/make she/he does/makes

*(che)* noi	facciamo	we do/make
*(che)* voi	facciate	you all do/make
*(che)* loro	facciano	they do/make

Sapere – to know (facts) – Present Subjunctive Mood

*(che)* io	sappia	I know
*(che)* tu	sappia	you (familiar) know
*(che)* Lei *(che)* lei/lui	sappia	you (polite) know she/he knows

*(che)* noi	sappiamo	we know
*(che)* voi	sappiate	you all know
*(che)* loro	sappiano	they know

Venire – to come – Present Subjunctive Mood

*(che)* io	venga	I come
*(che)* tu	venga	you (familiar) come
*(che)* Lei *(che)* lei/lui	venga	you (polite) come she/he comes

*(che)* noi	veniamo	we come
*(che)* voi	veniate	you all come
*(che)* loro	vengano	they come

How to Conjugate Italian Verbs “Essere,” “Avere,” and “Stare” in the Present Tense Subjunctive Mood

A review from the first blog in this series:

In the tables below are the subjunctive forms for the Italian auxiliary verbs avere, stare, and essere, which are often used in the subjunctive mood in written and spoken Italian. These are important verbs to commit to memory!

Avere – to have – Present Subjunctive Mood

(che) io	abbia	I have
(che) tu	abbia	you (familiar) have
(che) Lei (che) lei/lui	abbia	you (polite) have she/he has

(che) noi	abbiamo	we have
(che) voi	abbiate	you all have
(che) loro	abbiano	they have

Essere – to be – Present Subjunctive Mood

(che) io	sia	I am
(che) tu	sia	you (familiar) are
(che) Lei (che) lei/lui	sia	you (polite) are he/he is

(che) noi	siamo	we are
(che) voi	siate	you all are
(che) loro	siano	they are

Stare – to stay (to be) – Present Subjunctive Mood

(che) io	stia	I stay (am)
(che) tu	stia	you (familiar) stay (are)
(che) Lei (che) lei/lui	stia	you (polite) stay (are) she/he stays (is)

(che) noi	stiamo	we stay (are)
(che) voi	stiate	you all stay (are)
(che) loro	stiano	they stay (are)

Speak Italian: How to Use the Italian Subjunctive Mood (Part 3)

Example Phrases Using the Present Tense
Italian Subjunctive Mood

To follow are some examples of how the Italian subjunctive mood in the present tense might be used in conversation during daily life. (In later blog posts in this series, we will cover examples of how to use the subjunctive when the introductory phrase is in the conditional or past tense.)

Notice that English sentence structure differs from Italian in most of these sentences. We can make a similar sentence in English as in Italian, but it would be considered an “awkward” sentence.

For the translations, the Italian sentence structure is given first for some examples to help us to think in Italian. The correct English is in bold.

We will use the example introductory phrases from earlier in this section. How many more combinations can you think of?

*Voglio che tu cucini* una cena speciale per la festa stasera.**	I want that you cook a special dinner for the party tonight. = *I want you to cook* a special dinner for the party tonight.**

*Ho paura che lui guidi* troppo veloce.**	*I am afraid he drives* too fast.**

*Non sono certo che Lei ricordi* questo giorno.**	*I amnot certain that you (will) remember* this day.**

*Non sono sicuro che noi* ricordiamo questo posto speciale.**	*I am not sure that we (will) remember* this special place.**

*Sono felice che voi incontriate* mio cugino oggi.**	*I am happy (that) you all (are going) to meet* my cousin today.**
*Sono fortunato che voi mangiate* con me questa sera per il mio compleanno.**	*I am lucky that you all are eating* with me tonight for my birthday.**

*Temo che loro non siano* persone perbene.**	*I am afraid that they are not* good people.**

*Mi auguro che loro facciano* una buona vacanza.**	*I hope that they have* a good vacation.**

The Italian Subjunctive Mood: Examples for Modal Verbs

Here are some examples for the introductory phrases “before that” and “after that,” which, as we have discussed in the earlier section, should take the subjunctive mood. These phrases seem to be most useful in situations in which we talk about plans people would like to or have to make for themselves or others, and therefore helping verbs many times also come into play.

*Lei deve prepare molto bene i tuoi documenti prima che tu debba andare* al lavoro.**	She must prepare your papers very well before (that) you have to go to work. = *She has to prepare your papers very well before you have to go* to work.**

*Prima che mio figlio possa andare* dove vuole, io devo venire a casa.**	Before (that) my son can go where he wants, I have to come home. = *Before my son can go* where he wants, I have to come home.**

*Prima che noi dobbiamo partire per* Roma, dovete riposare un po’ in campagna.**	Before (that) we have to leave for Rome, you all must rest a little bit in the country. = *Before we have to leave* for Rome, you all must rest a little bit in the country.**

Prima che voi possiate andare a trovare* i vostri parenti in America, tuo padre deve guardagnare un sacco di soldi.**	Before (that) you all can visit your relatives in America, your father must make a lot of money. = *Before you all* can visit your relatives in America, your father must make a lot of money.**

Il mio assistente deve portarli alla riunione prima che loro possano mangiare la cena.	My assistant must take them to the meeting before (that) they can eat dinner. = My assistant must take them to the meeting before they can eat dinner.

* andare a trovare is an idiomatic expression that means “to go to visit (someone).” Visitare is used when going to visit a place.

** un sacco di soldi is an idiomatic expression that means “a lot of money.”

The Italian Subjunctive Mood: Examples for Adverbial Clauses

*Benché io voglia andare* in Italia, non è possibile ora.**	*Although I want to go* to Italy, it is not possible now.**

*Sebbene lui voglia andare* all’università, non ha ricevuto voti abastanza buoni al liceo.**	*Although he wants to go* to college, he did not get good enough grades in high school.**

*Sebbene noi vogliamo vivere* bene, invece dobbiamo lavorare nel ristorante della famiglia per molti anni.**	*Though we want to live* well, we must work in the family restaurant for many years.**

*Perché la crostata* sia fatta bene, si deve avere le fragle fresche.**	So that the pie is made well, one must have fresh strawberries. = You must have fresh strawberries so that the pie is made properly.

*Vengo alla festa, purché lui non ci sia.*	I will come to the party, provided that he will not be there.

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Italian Subjunctive (Part 3) : Speak Italian!

Italian Subjunctive (Part 2): Speak Italian!

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Italian Subjunctive (Part 2): Speak Italian!

The Italian subjunctive mood is easy to conjugate, but tricky to use!

Speak Italian: How to Use the Italian Subjunctive Mood

Can you speak Italian? By now, many of you have passed the beginning stages of learning to speak Italian and can read and comprehend quite a bit of the Italian language. Meraviglioso!

Let’s take that giant step from simple beginning sentences to more complex and fluid sentences in Italian by using the subjunctive mood. In this segment, we will discuss when volere, desiderare, piacere, and dispiacere take the subjunctive mood. We will also learn the conjugation of the present tense subjunctive mood for the -are, -ere, and -ire verbs and the commonly used irregular verbs andare, dare, dire, fare, sapere, and venire. Example sentences will follow!

Speak Italian: How to Use the Italian Subjunctive Mood

In each blog in the “Speak Italian” series about the Italian subjunctive mood (“il congiuntivo”), we will first present phrases that take the Italian subjunctive mood.

Then, we will review how to conjugate the Italian subjunctive mood.

Finally, we will present common phrases used in daily life that take the Italian subjunctive mood.

Remember these examples as “anchors” in your knowledge for when you must speak Italian and try out the subjunctive mood in your next Italian conversation!

Enjoy the second blog in this series, “Italian Subjunctive (Part 2): Speak Italian!”
—Kathryn Occhipinti

Speak Italian: How to Use the Italian Subjunctive Mood (Part 2)

Once Again… Phrases That Take the Italian Subjunctive Mood

Italian has a subjunctive mood that is used to express beliefs, thoughts, or hopes with the verbs credere, pensare, and sperare.

The subjunctive mood is also said to “open up” a conversation to discussion about a particular topic by expressing doubt, uncertainty, desire, or a feeling.

Certain phrases are commonly used to start a sentence in order to introduce the subjunctive mood, and these initial phrases will be in the indicative tense (the “usual” present or past tense). The subjunctive mood is also used with the conditional tense, but this will be the topic of later blogs. These initial phrases imply uncertainty and trigger the subjunctive mood in the phrase to follow.

In our first blog about the Italian subjunctive mood, we learned that these initial phrases fall into several groups. We discussed Groups 1 through Group 6, which are given below for review.

To follow in this blog is an explanation of several more phrases that can be used to introduce the Italian subjunctive mood, which we have added into our original list as Group 7 and Group 8.

Groups 1-8: “Noun Clauses”

1. Phrases that use the verbs credere (to believe), pensare (to think), and sperare (to hope). These verbs use the pattern: [verb + di + infinitive verb] to describe the beliefs, thoughts, or hopes that one has. When the subject in the introductory phrase is not the same as the subject in the subjunctive clause that follows, the pattern changes to: [verb + che + subjunctive verb].*
2. Impersonal constructions that begin with, “It is…” such as, “È possibile che…”
3. Phrases that express a doubt, such as, “I don’t know…” or “Non so che…”
4. Phrases that express suspicion, such as, ” I suspect that…” or “Sospetto che…”
5. Phrases that express uncertainty, such as, “It seems to me…” or “Mi sembra che…” and ” To wonder if…” or “Chiedersi se… “
6. Impersonal verbs followed by the conjunction che, such as, “Basta che…” “It is enough that,” or “Si dice che…” “They say that…
7. Phrases that use the verbs volere, desiderare, chiedere, esigere when the subject in the introductory phrase is not the same as the subject in the clause that follows. In this situation, these verbs will be followed by che.
8. Phrases that use the verbs piacere and dispiacere when the subject in the introductory phrase is not the same as the subject in the clause that follows. In this situation, these verbs will be followed by che.

As usual, there is a summary table at the end of the next section that shows how to use these phrases. The present tense and present conditional phrases are in the first two columns and the past tense phrases in the last two columns. Notice that the imperfetto form of the past tense is given in our table for brevity, but the passato prossimo form of the past tense can also be used, depending on the situation. Use of the past tense forms will be the topic of later blogs.

Points to remember about the subjunctive mood:

How to Use the Italian Subjunctive Mood with
Volere and Desiderare

Volere and desiderare are covered in detail in Chapter 4 of our textbook, Conversational Italian for Travelers, if you would like a review. Below are some simple examples:

Voglio imparare l’italiano. I want to learn Italian.

Vorrei viaggiare in Italia. I would like to travel to Italy.

Desidero andare al cinema. I want to go to the movies.

In the same way, I can ask that someone do something using the verb chiedere or insist that they do it with the verb esigere. But just asking someone else or even insisting does not mean that it will be done (as those of us who have children know). So, in these cases as well, the verbs chiedo and esigo (I want and I insist) will be followed by the conjunction che and the next phrase will use a verb in the subjunctive form.

In this blog, we will only discuss the present tense subjunctive mood used with voglio and desidero.

How to Use the Italian Subjunctive Mood with
Piacere and Dispiacere

In this blog, we will only discuss the present tense subjunctive mood used with mi piace and mi dispiace.

Phrases Used to Introduce the Subjunctive Mood with Volere, Desiderare, Piacere, Dispiacere

Present Tense & Conditional Tense Subjunctive Phrases Groups 6 and 7		Past Tense & Past Conditional Tense Subjunctive Phrases Groups 6 and 7

Voglio… che tu	I want… that you	Volevo… che tu	I wanted… that you
Vorrei… che tu	I would like… that you	Volevo… che tu	I wanted… that you
Desidero… che tu Chiedo … che tu Esigo… che tu	I want… that you I ask… that you i insist… that you	Desideravo… che tu Chiedevo… che tu Esigevo… che tu	I wanted… that you I asked… that you I insisted… that you
Mi piace… che tu	I like… that you	Mi piaceva… che tu	I liked… that you
Mi dispiace… che tu	I am sorry… that you	Mi dispiaceva… che tu	I was sorry… that you
Mi piacerebbe… che tu	I would like… that you	Mi sarebbe piaciuto… che tu	I would have liked… that you
Mi dispiacerebbe… che tu	I don’t mind… that you	Mi sarebbe piaciuto… che tu	I didn’t mind… that you

Finally, a word of caution:

DO NOT USE THE SUBJUNCTIVE WITH THE FOLLOWING THREE PHRASES!

Forse = Perhaps

Per me = For me

Secondo me = According to me

Speak Italian: The Present Tense Subjunctive Mood (Part 2)

How to Conjugate the Italian Subjunctive Mood Present Tense for -are, -ere, and -ire Verbs

To change any regular infinitive verb into the present subjunctive mood, first drop the final -are, -ere, or -ire to create the stem. Then add the endings given in the first table below to the stem that has been created. Examples for each verb type are given in the second table below.*

Practice the subjunctive verbs out loud by saying che, the subject pronoun and then the correct verb form that follows!

Subjunctive Mood – Present Tense

Subject Pronoun	-are ending	-ere ending	-ire ending
io	i	a	a
tu	i	a	a
Lei/lei/lui	i	a	a

noi	iamo	iamo	iamo
voi	iate	iate	iate
loro	ino	ano	ano

	Tornare (to return)	Vendere (to sell)	Partire (to leave)
*(che)* io	torni	venda	parta
*(che)* tu	torni	venda	parta
*(che)* Lei/lei/lui	torni	venda	parta

*(che)* noi	torniamo	vendiamo	partiamo
*(che)* voi	torniate	vendiate	partiate
*(che)* loro	tornino	vendano	partano

*(The stressed syllable for the example verbs has been underlined in the table above.)

When pronouncing the subjunctive verbs, the stress will fall in the same place as in the conjugated verb forms for the present tense. This will be in the beginning of the verb (first or second syllable) for the io, tu, Lei/lei, lui, and loro forms, and one syllable to the right (second or third syllable) for the noi and voi forms.
Notice that all of the singular subjunctive endings (io, tu, Lei/lei lui) are the same for each infinitive form of the verb.
Also, all the endings for the -ere and -ire verbs are identical in the first person!
The noi and voi forms are the same for all infinitive verb forms as well.
The noi form is identical to the present tense!

The Subjunctive Mood – Present Tense
Commonly Used Irregular Verbs

Here are the irregular present subjunctive forms for six commonly used verbs in Italian. It may be useful to commit these forms to memory, as these verbs are often used in the subjunctive mood in written and spoken Italian. Notice that the translation is the simple present tense in English.

Andare – to go – Present Subjunctive Mood

*(che)* io	vada	I go
*(che)* tu	vada	you (familiar) go
*(che)* Lei *(che)* lei/lui	vada	you (polite) go she/he goes

*(che)* noi	andiamo	we go
*(che)* voi	andiate	you all go
*(che)* loro	vadano	they go

Dare – to give – Present Subjunctive Mood

*(che)* io	dia	I give
*(che)* tu	dia	you give
*(che)* Lei *(che)* lei/lui	dia	you give she/he gives

*(che)* noi	diamo	we give
*(che)* voi	diate	you all give
*(che)* loro	diano	they give

Dire – to say/ to tell – Subjunctive Mood

*(che)* io	dica	I say/tell
*(che)* tu	dica	you (familiar) say/tell
*(che)* Lei *(che)* lei/lui	dica	you (polite) say/tell she/he says/tells

*(che)* noi	diciamo	we say/tell
*(che)* voi	diciate	you all say/tell
*(che)* loro	dicano	they say/tell

Fare – to do/ to make– Present Subjunctive Mood

*(che)* io	faccia	I do/ make
*(che)* tu	faccia	you (familiar) do/make
*(che)* Lei *(che)* lei/lui	faccia	you (polite) do/make she/he does/makes

*(che)* noi	facciamo	we do/make
*(che)* voi	facciate	you all do/make
*(che)* loro	facciano	they do/make

Sapere – to know (facts) – Present Subjunctive Mood

*(che)* io	sappia	I know
*(che)* tu	sappia	you (familiar) know
*(che)* Lei *(che)* lei/lui	sappia	you (polite) know she/he knows

*(che)* noi	sappiamo	we know
*(che)* voi	sappiate	you all know
*(che)* loro	sappiano	they know

Venire – to come – Present Subjunctive Mood

*(che)* io	venga	I come
*(che)* tu	venga	you (familiar) come
*(che)* Lei *(che)* lei/lui	venga	you (polite) come she/he comes

*(che)* noi	veniamo	we come
*(che)* voi	veniate	you all come
*(che)* loro	vengano	they come

Speak Italian: How to Use the Italian Subjunctive Mood (Part 2)

Example Phrases Using the Present Tense Subjunctive Mood

Notice that English sentence structure differs from Italian in most of these sentences. We can make a similar sentence in English as in Italian, but it would be considered an “awkward” sentence.

The biggest difference is that we English speakers do not use the subjunctive form, whether or not the subject in the two phrases is the same or different. Also, we often leave out the word “that” from our sentences that contain two phrases. But, as mentioned previously, the Italian word for “that,” “che,” is not an option when linking two Italian phrases!

For the translations, the Italian sentence structure is given first in italics to help us to think in Italian. The correct English is in bold.

We will use the example introductory phrases and verbs from earlier in this section. You can see from our first example that use of the subjunctive in the opening phrase really does allow one to make complex sentences. The first example has been completed to express a complex situation. Have fun expanding the sentences we have given. How many more combinations can you think of?How many more combinations can you think of?

*Voglio che tu torni* presto perché ho una bella sorpresa per te.**	I want that you return soon because I have a wonderful surprise for you. = I want you to return soon because I have a wonderful surprise for you.

*Voglio che lui venda* la macchina vecchia.**	I want that he sells the old car. = I want him to sell the old car.

*Desidero che lei parta* questa sera.**	I want that she leaves tonight. = I want her to leave tonight.

*Desidero che Lei faccia* una bella torta per la festa.**	I want that you make a nice cake for the party. = I want you to make a nice cake for the party.

*Mi piace che tu vada* a Roma ogni giorno.**	I like that you go to Rome every day. = I like (that fact that) you to go to Rome every day.

*Mi dispiace che lui non sappia* questa informazione.**	I am sorry that he doesn’t know this information. = I am sorry he doesn’t know this information.

*Voglio che noi* torniamo presto.**	I want that we return soon. = I want us to return soon.

*Voglio che noi vendiamo* la macchina vecchia.**	I want that we sell the old car. = I want us to sell the old car.

*Desidero che voi partiate* questa sera.**	I want that you all leave tonight. = I want you all to leave tonight.

*Desidero che voi facciate* una bella torta per la festa.**	I want that you all make a nice cake for the party. = I want you all to make a nice cake for the party.

*Mi piace che voi* andiate a Roma ogni giorno.**	I like that you all go to Rome every day. = I like (the fact that) you to go to Rome every day.

*Mi dispiace che voi* non sappiate questa informazione.**	I am sorry that you all don’t know this information. = I am sorry you all don’t know this information.

*Voglio che loro tornino* presto.**	I want that they return soon. = I want them to return soon.

*Voglio che loro* vendano la macchina vecchia.**	I want that they sell the old car. = I want them to sell the old car.

*Desidero che loro* partano questa sera.**	I want that they leave tonight. = I want them to leave tonight.

*Desidero che loro facciano* una bella torta per la festa.**	I want that they make a nice cake for the party. = I want them to make a nice cake for the party.

*Mi piace che loro vadano* a Roma ogni giorno.**	I like that they go to Rome every day. = I like them to go to Rome every day.

*Mi dispiace che loro non sappiano* questa informazione.**	I am sorry that they don’t know this information. = I am sorry they don’t know this information.

Available on amazon.com and Learn Travel Italian.com

Italian Subjunctive (Part 2): Speak Italian!

Italian Subjunctive (Part 1): Speak Italian!

April 25, 2016Let's Learn Italian!chiedersi, Conjunction che, Conversational Italian, How to conjugate Italian subjunctirve essere, How to conjugate Italian subjunctive avere, How to conjugate Italian subjunctive mode, How to conjugate Italian subjunctive mood, how to use the Italian subjunctive, How to use the Italian subjunctive mode, How to use the Italian subjunctive mood, Italian Language, Italian Subjunctive, Italian Subjunctive Mode, Italian subjunctive mood, Learn Italian language, Learn Italian subjunctive mode, Learn Italian subjunctive mood, Speak Italian, Stella Lucente, Subjunctive in Italian, Subjunctive ItalianKathryn Occhipinti

Italian Subjunctive (Part 1): Speak Italian!

The Italian subjunctive mood is easy to conjugate, but tricky to use!

Speak Italian: How to Use the Italian Subjunctive Mood

Can you speak Italian? By now, many of you have passed the beginning stages of learning to speak Italian and can read and comprehend quite a bit of the Italian language. Meraviglioso!

Let’s take that giant step from simple beginning sentences to more complex and fluid sentences in Italian by using the subjunctive mood. In this segment, we will discuss the phrases that take the subjunctive mood and the how to conjugate the subjunctive mood for avere, essere and stare in the present tense. Finally, we will learn about the verb chiedersi, which means “to wonder.” Example sentences will follow!

Speak Italian: How to Use the Italian Subjunctive Mood

In each blog in the “Speak Italian” series about the Italian subjunctive mood (“il congiuntivo”), we will first present phrases that take the Italian subjunctive mood.

Then, we will review how to conjugate the Italian subjunctive mood.

Finally, we will present common phrases used in daily life that take the Italian subjunctive mood.

Remember these examples as “anchors” in your knowledge for when you must speak Italian and try out the subjunctive mood in your next Italian conversation!

Enjoy the first blog in this series, “Italian Subjunctive (Part 1): Speak Italian!”
—Kathryn Occhipinti

Speak Italian: How to Use the Italian Subjunctive Mood (Part 1)

Introducing… Phrases That Take the Italian Subjunctive Mood

Italian has a subjunctive mood that is used to express beliefs, thoughts, or hopes with the verbs credere, pensare, and sperare.

The subjunctive mood is also said to “open up” a conversation to discussion about a particular topic by expressing doubt, uncertainty, desire, or a feeling.

The subjunctive mood is also used to express an expectation regarding the subject of the main clause.

Certain phrases are commonly used to start a sentence in order to introduce the subjunctive mood, and these initial phrases will be in the indicative tense (the “usual” present or past tense). The subjunctive mood is also used with the conditional tense, but this will be the topic of later blogs. These initial phrases imply uncertainty and trigger the subjunctive mood in the phrase to follow.

These groups are listed below:

Groups 1-6: “Noun Clauses”

Phrases that use the verbs credere (to believe), pensare (to think), and sperare (to hope). These verbs use the pattern: [verb + di + infinitive verb] to describe the beliefs, thoughts, or hopes that one has. When the subject in the introductory phrase is not the same as the subject in the subjunctive clause that follows, the pattern changes to: [verb + che + subjunctive verb].*
Impersonal constructions that begin with, “It is…” such as, “È possibile che…”
Phrases that express a doubt, such as, “I don’t know…” or “Non so che…”
Phrases that express suspicion, such as, ” I suspect that…” or “Sospetto che…”
Phrases that express uncertainty, such as, “It seems to me…” or “Mi sembra che…” and ” To wonder if…” or “Chiedersi se… “
Impersonal verbs followed by the conjunction che, such as, “Basta che…” “It is enough that,” or “Si dice che…” “They say that…

In Italian, the introductory phrases listed above are usually followed by a “linking word,” which in turn introduces the phrase that follows. This “linking word” is also known as a conjunction, and is the word che. In this situation, che means that. The clause that follows our introductory phrase will then describe what the uncertainty is about.

To follow is a (long) list of phrases that can be used to introduce the subjunctive mood, with example from the present tense in the first two columns and the past tense in the last two columns. Notice that the imperfetto form of the past tense is given in our table for brevity, but the passato prossimo form of the past tense can also be used, depending on the situation. Use of the past tense forms will be the topic of later blogs.

Phrases That Take the Subjunctive Mood

Present Tense Subjunctive Phrase Groups 1 and 2		Past Tense Subjunctive Phrase Groups 1 and 2
Credo che	I believe that	Credevo che	I believed that
Penso che	I think that	Pensavo che	I thought that
Spero che	I hope that	Speravo che	I hoped that

È possibile che	It is possible that	Era possibile che	It was possible that
È probablile che	It is probable that	Era probabile che	It was probable that

È bene che	It is fine/good that	Era bene che	It was fine/good that
Sarebbe bene che	It would be good that	Sarebbe stato bene che	It would have been good that
È giusto che	It is right that	Era giusto che	It was right that
È meglio che	It is better that	Era meglio che	It was better that

È incredible che	It is incredible that	Era incredibile che	It was incredible that
È un peccato che	It is a shame that	Era un peccato che	It was a shame that
È una vergogna che	It is a disgrace that	Era una vergogna che	It was a disgrace that
È normale che	It is normal that	Era normale che	It was normal that

Present Tense Subjunctive Phrase Groups 3, 4, 5 and 6		Past Tense Subjunctive Phrase Groups 3, 4, 5 and 6
Non so che	I don’t know that	Non sapevo che	I didn’t know that
Non so dove	I don’t know where	Non sapevo dove	I didn’t know where
Non sono sicuro che	I am not sure that	Non ero sicuro che	I wasn’t sure that
Non ho idea che	I have no idea that	Non avevo idea che	I had no idea that
Non mi aspetto che	I couldn’t wait that	Non mi aspettavo che	I couldn’t wait that
Non c’è nulla che	There is nothing that	Non c’era nulla che	There was nothing that

Mi pare che	It seems to me	Mi pareva che	It seemed to me
Mi sembra che	It seems to me	Mi sembrava che	It seemed to me
Può darsi che	Perhaps
Ho l’impressione che	I have the impression that	Avevo l’impresione che	I had the impression that
Suppongo che	I suppose that	Supponevo che	I supposed that
Immagino che	I imagine that	Immaginavo che	I imagined that
Sospetto che	I suspect that	Sospettavo che	I suspected that
Dubito che	I doubt that	Dubitavo che	I doubted that
Sono convinto che	I am convinced that	Ero convinto che	I was convinced that
A meno che	Unless
Conviene che	It is best that	Conveniva che	It was best that
Basta che	It is enough that	Bastava che	It was enough that
Malgrado che	In spite of that
Si dice che	It is said that	Si diceva che	It was said that
Dicono che	They say that	Dicevano che	They said that
Bisogna che	It’s necessary that	Bisognavo che	It was necessary that

*When the speaker in the introductory phrase will carry out the action in the phrase to follow, Italian will use the following construction to link the phrases for credere, pensare, and sperare : di + infinitive verb. Example: Penso di andare a Roma domani. = I think I will go to Rome tomorrow. (Use pensare a when thinking ABOUT something or someone.)

************************************************

Finally, a word of caution:

DO NOT USE THE SUBJUNCTIVE WITH THE FOLLOWING THREE PHRASES!

Forse = Perhaps

Per me = For me

Secondo me = According to me

Speak Italian: The Present Tense Subjunctive Mood (Part 1)

How to Conjugate Italian Verbs “Essere,” “Avere,” and “Stare” in the Present Tense Subjunctive Mood

Here are the present tense subjunctive forms for the Italian auxiliary verbs avere and essere, and also the irregular verb stare, which are often used in the subjunctive mood in written and spoken Italian. Che is included in parentheses in the subject pronoun column as a reminder that these verb forms are typically introduced with the conjunction che. Also, make sure to include the subject pronoun in your sentence after che for clarity, since the singular forms are identical.

Practice the subjunctive verbs out loud by saying che , the subject pronoun and then the correct verb form that follows!

Avere – to have – Subjunctive Mood

(che) io	abbia	I have
(che) tu	abbia	you (familiar) have
(che) Lei (che) lei/lui	abbia	you (polite) have she/he has

(che) noi	abbiamo	we have
(che) voi	abbiate	you all have
(che) loro	abbiano	they have

Essere – to be – Subjunctive Mood

(che) io	sia	I am
(che) tu	sia	you (familiar) are
(che) Lei (che) lei/lui	sia	you (polite) are he/he is

(che) noi	siamo	we are
(che) voi	siate	you all are
(che) loro	siano	they are

Stare – to stay (to be) – Subjunctive Mood

(che) io	stia	I stay (am)
(che) tu	stia	you (familiar) stay (are)
(che) Lei (che) lei/lui	stia	you (polite) stay (are) she/he stays (is)

(che) noi	stiamo	we stay (are)
(che) voi	stiate	you all stay (are)
(che) loro	stiano	they stay (are)

Speak Italian: How to Use the Italian Subjunctive Mood (Part 1)

Example Phrases Using “Stare” in the Present Tense Subjunctive Mood

To follow are some examples of when the Italian subjunctive mood in the present tense might be used in conversation during daily life. Notice that the English translation is the same for the present tense examples and the Italian subjunctive examples used in the sentences below.

We will start with sentences using stare (to stay/to be) in the subjunctive mood because this verb comes up very commonly in this modern life, when not a day seems to go by without an email being sent and received! The old formalities of opening and closing a letter have returned! After the greeting in an email, especially if there has not been recent communication, it is customary to mention a hope that all is well with friends and family. Here is a case for the subjunctive!

Present Tense Phrase		Present Tense Subjunctive Phrase
Tu stai bene.	You (familiar) are well.	Spero che tu stia bene.	I hope that you (familiar) are well.
Lei sta bene.	You (polite) are well. She is well.	Spero che lei stia bene.	I hope that you (polite) are well. I hope that she is well.
Lui sta bene.	He is well.	Spero che lui stia bene.	I hope that he is well.
La famiglia sta bene.	The family is well.	Spero che la tua famiglia* stia bene.	I hope that the family is* well.
Tutti stanno bene.	Everyone/body is well.	Spero che tutti stiano bene.	I hope that everyone/everybody is well.

*Famiglia = family and is a collective noun and takes the third person singular.

Example Phrases Using “Avere” in the Present Tense Subjunctive Mood

We often close an email with a hope as well—for a nice weekend, for instance, or that we will see the person we have contacted sometime soon. In this case, the phrases we most commonly use will need to use avere (to have) in the subjunctive mood.

Present Tense Phrase		Present Tense Subjunctive Phrase
Buona settimana!	Have a good week!	Spero che tu abbia una buona settimana.	I hope that you have a good week!
Buon fine settimana!	Have a good weekend!	Spero che tu abbia un buon fine settimana.	I hope that you have a good weekend!
Buona giornata. Buona serata.	Have a good day. Have a good evening.	Spero che tu abbia una buona giornata/buona serata.	I hope that you have a good day/evening.

Example Phrases Using “Essere” in the Present Tense Subjunctive Mood

The verb essere (to be) is commonly used when describing someone’s characteristics to someone else. But what if we are not sure that someone possesses a certain characteristic, or we would like someone to possess a characteristic we fear they may not have? Then we must use the subjunctive mood in our sentence! Here are a few examples. How many more can you think of?

Present Tense Phrase		Present Tense Subjunctive Phrase
Lei è bella.	She is beautiful.	Mi sembra che lei sia bella.	She seems beautiful to me. (It seems to me that she is beautiful.)
L’insegnante è simpatico.	The teacher is nice.	Spero che l’insegnante sia simpatico.	I hope that the teacher is nice.
Dio è in cielo.	God is in heaven.	Credo che Dio sia in cielo.	I believe that God is in heaven.
L’attrice è brava in quel film.	The actress is great in that film.	Penso che l’attrice sia brava in quel film.	I think that the actress is great in that film.
Lui è fortunato.	He is fortunate.	Spero che lui sia fortunato.	I hope that he is fortunate.
Lei è contenta.	She is happy.	Mi pare che lei sia contenta.	She seems happy to me. (It seems to me that she is happy.)
Loro sono bravi cantanti.	They are wonderful singers.	Può darsi che loro siano bravi cantanti.	Perhaps they are wonderful singers.
Lui è un bravo studente.	He is a good student.	Dubito che lui sia un bravo studente.	I doubt that he is a good student.
Lei è sposata.	She is marrried.	È probabile che lei sia sposata.	She is probably married. (It is probable that she is married.)
Loro sono ricchi.	They are rich.	È possibile che loro siano ricchi.	It is possible that they are rich.

How to Use the Verb “To Wonder”
“Chiedersi”

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The verb chiedersi, from Rule 4, is worthy of special mention. Chiedersi is the verb Italians use to describe the idea of “wondering” if something might happen.

“Mi chiedo…” literally means, “I ask myself,” which translates into “I wonder.” This verb is often followed by the Italian word for “if” to make the sentence, “Mi chiedo se…” or, “I wonder if…” Given that this phrase ends in the word “if,” at first glance it may seem to fall into the category of improbable hypothetical phrases, which need a special conjugation (to be discussed in blogs to follow). But, cheidersi in its present tense form actually takes the present subjunctive mood, just as the other phrases in Rule 4 that we have learned about.

So, you already know how to use this verb and can easily wonder about things that might be!

Below is an example of how to use the verb chiedersi. We will revisit chiedersi again as we continue to learn about the subjunctive mood in blogs to come!

Mi chiedo se lui sia un attore bravo in quel film.
I wonder if he is a great actor in that film.

Available on amazon.com and Learn Travel Italian.com

Italian Subjunctive (Part 1): Speak Italian!

Imperfetto Subjunctive for Past Tense (Part 3): Speak Italian!

Imperfetto Subjunctive for Past Tense (Part 2): Speak Italian!

Imperfetto Subjunctive for Past Tense (Part 1): Speak Italian!

Italian Subjunctive (Part 5): Italian Hypothetical Phrases – Italian Family Reunion

Speak Italian: Italian Verb Tenses You Will Need to Know for

Italian Subjunctive (Part 4): Italian Hypothetical Phrases of Love

Speak Italian: Italian Verb Tenses You Will Need to Know for

Italian Subjunctive (Part 3): Speak Italian!

Italian Subjunctive (Part 2): Speak Italian!

Italian Subjunctive (Part 1): Speak Italian!

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