Subjunctive (Il congiuntivo)

Practice:Subjunctive

The subjunctive is called a mood, like the conditional and the indicative. The subjunctive is used in Italian in a variety of situations, to be discussed below. First, let me give you an overview of the challenges the subjunctive presents to students, so that you can know what to expect.

• The forms: Subjunctive conjugations seem daunting at first, because there are many verbs which have irregular subjunctive forms. However, once you know the irregularity in the -io form, it is very easy to derive the remaining forms (-tu, -lui/lei, etc.).
• When to use it: The second challenge is knowing when to use the subjunctive instead of the indicative. This is largely a matter of familiarization and practice, and I will outline typical subjunctive situations below, often situations of subjectivity and uncertainty as opposed to those of certainty and fact.
• Which tense: There are four subjunctive tenses: present, past, imperfect and trapassato (past perfect). It is not as bad as it seems, because two of these tenses are derived from two others. When deciding which of these tenses to use, you rely on rules regarding the relationship in time between the action of the subjunctive clause (a dependent clause) and the main clause.

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Forms

I. Present Subjunctive (Il congiuntivo presente)

	parlare	mettere	dormire	capire
io	parli	metta	dorma	capisca
tu	parli	metta	dorma	capisca
lui,lei,Lei	parli	metta	dorma	capisca
noi	parliamo	mettiamo	dormiamo	capiamo
voi	parliate	mettiate	dormiate	capiate
loro	parlino	mettano	dormano	capiscano

Note that the io, tu and lui/lei/Lei forms for each verb in the present subjunctive (that is, all the singular forms) are identical. Because of this, it is more common to use the subject pronouns with subjunctive verbs, in order to avoid confusion over which subject you are talking about. For example, Penso che tu parli bene italiano.

Note that the noi and voi endings are the same for verbs of all three classes (-are, -ere, -ire).

Note that the endings for -are verbs begin with an -i, and the endings for -ere and -ire verbs begin with an -a, the opposite of what you might think.

Note that the class of -ire verbs that have an -isc inserted into their root in the indicative preserve this irregularity in the subjunctive.

Irregular verbs in the subjunctive include the following (io form provided):

• andare: vada
• avere: abbia
• dare: dia
• dire: dica
• dovere: debba
• essere: sia
• fare: faccia
• potere: possa
• rimanere: rimanga
• sapere: sappia
• stare: stia
• tenere: tenga
• usicre: esca
• venire: venga
• volere: voglia

II. Past subjunctive (Il congiuntivo passato)

The subjunctive of these verbs is formed by putting avere or essere in the present subjunctive and supplying the past participle of the main verb: e.g. io abbia ricevuto, tu sia andato via, voi siate partiti, loro abbiano dimenticato.

III. Imperfect subjunctive (Il congiuntivo imperfetto)

	parlare	mettere	dormire	capire
io	parlassi	mettessi	dormissi	capissi
tu	parlassi	mettessi	dormissi	capissi
lui,lei,Lei	parlasse	mettesse	dormisse	capisse
noi	parlassimo	mettessimo	dormissimo	capissimo
voi	parlaste	metteste	dormiste	capiste
loro	parlassero	mettessero	dormissero	capissero

Irregulars include essere (io fossi, tu fossi, lui/lei fosse, noi fossimo, voi foste, loro fossero), fare (io facessi, etc.), bere (io bevessi, etc.) and dire (io dicessi, etc.), in other words, all verbs which are irregular in the regular imperfect (indicative).

IV. Past Perfect Subjunctive (Il congiuntivo trapassato)

You form the past perfect subjunctive by putting avere or essere in the imperfect subjunctive and then adding the past participle of the main verb: e.g. io avessi ascoltato, tu fossi arrivato, noi fossimo usciti, voi aveste imparato.

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Primary Uses of the Subjunctive

The subjunctive is used to express emotion, desire, commands and opinions. A caveat is that most subjunctives occur in relative or dependent clauses. A dependent clause is the part of the sentence that contains a verb and follows that or which, for example:

• I hope that you can come.
• I know that you are very busy.
• I heard that Marilena is coming back to study.

In Italian, the that or which in this context is expressed with the relative pronoun che. The following list of subjunctive cases assumes that the verbs in question are in a dependent clause (i.e. the one following che), not an independent clause.

I. Expressing Emotions

essere contento che	Sono contenta che voi veniate stasera.	We are happy that you all are coming tonight.
essere sorpreso che	Maria e' sorpresa che Sandro sia tornato.	Maria is surprised that Sandro came back.
avere paura che	Abbiamo paura che Claudia non abbia superato l'esame.	We're afriad that Claudia didn't pass the exam.
essere triste che	Sono triste che mia nonna non stia bene.	I'm sad that my grandmother is sick.

II. Expressing Desire, Wish or Hope

sperare che	Spero che voi possiate laurearvi quest'anno.	I hope that you all can graudate this year.
volere che	Vorrei che tu mi dicessi la verita'.	I would like you to tell me the truth.
augurare	Mia madre augura che io abbia studiato di piu'.	My mother wishes that I had studied harder.

III. Expressing Opinions and Impressions

pensare che	Penso che tu sia onesta.	I think that you are honest.
credere che	Crediamo che ci siano troppi compiti in questo corso.	We think there is too much work in this class.
sembrare che	Sembra che Luigi non voglia piu' uscire con noi.	It seems that Luigi doesn't want to go out with us anymore.
parere che	Pare che piova domani.	It seems like it's going to rain tomorrow.

IV. Impersonal Expressions

E' importante che	E' importante che siate cortesi.	It's important that you be polite.
E' necessario che	E' necessario che tutti finiscano il progetto entro domani.	It's necessary that everyone finish the project by tomorrow.
E' bello che	E' bello che tu abbia tanti amici italiani.	It's great that you have a lot of Italian friends.

For verbs that expess certainty, fact, or objectivity, use the indicative, for example:

sapere che	to know that
e' un fatto che	it's a fact that
e' vero che	it's true that
e' chiaro che	it's clear that
e' certo che	it's certain that
e' sicuro che	it's certain that
dire che	to say that
scrivere che	to write that

If the subject of both clauses is the same, you dont need to use the subjunctive, but rather an infinitive. Contrast the following:

same subject	different subjects
Voglio uscire stasera. I want to go out this evening.	Voglio che tu esca stasera. I want you to go out this evening.
Siamo contenti di andare in Italia in estate. We are happy that we are going to Italy this summer.	Siamo contenti che voi andiate in Italia in estate. We are happy that you all are going to Italy this summer.

Here is what you need to keep in mind when determining which tense of the subjunctive to use (present, past, imperfect, pluperfect):

• Present Subjunctive:

  Spero che tu arrivi in tempo. I hope that you arrive on time.

  Use the present subjunctive when the main verb (sperare) is in the present tense and when the action in the dependent clause (arrivare) takes place after the action in the main clause (sperare).
• Past Subjunctive:

  Spero che tu sia arrivato in tempo. I hope that you arrived on time.

  Use the past subjunctive when the main verb (sperare) is in the present tense and when the action in the dependent clause (arrivare) takes place before the action in the main clause (sperare).
• Imperfect Subjunctive

  Speravo che tu arrivassi in tempo. I hoped that you arrived on time.

  Spererei che tu arrivassi in tempo. I would hope that you arrived on time.

  Use the imperfect subjunctive when the main verb (sperare) is in any past tense (e.g. imperfect or passato prossimo) or in the conditional and when the action in the dependent clause (arrivare) takes place after the action in the main clause (sperare).
• Past Perfect Subjunctive

  Speravo che tu fossi arrivato in tempo. I hoped that you had arrived on time.

  Use the past perfect subjunctive when the main verb (sperare) is in any past tense (e.g. imperfect or passato prossimo) or in the conditional and when the action in the dependent clause (arrivare) takes place before the action in the main clause (sperare).

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Secondary Uses of the Subjunctive

I. After Conjunctions

You use the subjunctive after the following conjunctions:

a meno che (non)	unless
affinche'	in order that
a patto che	provided that
a condizione che	on the condition that
benche'	although
perche'	so that
prima che	before
purche'	provided that
sebbene	although
senza che	without

For example:

Vado a classe benche' non stia bene.	I'm going to class although I'm sick.
Voglio vedere i miei cugini prima che partano per Europa.	I want to see my cousins before they leave for Europe.

Affinche', perche', senza, and prima are only used with the subjunctive if the subjects in the main and relative clauses are different. If they are the same, an inifinitive works just fine. For example:

Devo chiamare mia sorella prima di uscire.	I have to call my sister before I leave.
Studio molto per superare il mio esame.	I'm studying a lot in order to pass my exam.

Perche' also means because, and in this case does not take the subjunctive.

II. With Superlatives

When linking a relative clause to a superlative statement, use the subjunctive in the relative clause. For example:

La chimica organica e' il corso piu' difficile che io abbia mai seguito.	Organic Chemistry is the most difficult course that I have ever taken.
Marco e' il ragazzo piu' intelligente che io conosca.	Marco is the smartest guy I know.

III. With Negatives

When using a relative clause introduced by a negative, use the subjunctive in that relative clause. For example:

Non c'e' nessuno che possa aiutarmi con i miei compiti di matematica.	There's no one who can help me with my math homework.
Non c'e' niente che i bambini abbiano voglia di mangiare.	There's nothing that the kids feel like eating.

IV. With Indefinites

The subjunctive is also used in relative clauses that start with an indefinite expression. For example:

Conosci qualcuno che parli cinese?	Do you know someone who speaks Chinese?
Voglio comprare qualcosa che si usi per tenere lontani gli zanzari.	I want to buy something that will keep mosquitos away.

Pratica: Practice Exercises