Italian Subjunctive Mode
Modo Congiuntivo | (Subjunctive Mode)
The subjunctive mode is probably the most complex mode in Italian. It is considered refined and it allows us to express our opinions and talk to people in a respectful way. The literal meaning of congiuntivo is create a connection, as this is the purpose of this mode – connect main clauses with subordinate ones. We can find the subjunctive in conjunction with verbs that express:- Personal opinion
- Penso che tu abbia ragione – (I think that you are right)
- Emotion:
- Ho paura che venga a piovere tra poco – (I’m afraid that it will rain shortly)
- Desire:
- Spero che tu possa venire alla mia festa – (I hope that you can to come to my party)
- Uncertainty:
- Dubito che sia stato Marco – (I doubt that Marco did it)
- Sentences composed with prima che (before), senza che (without):
- Prima che tu dica altro… – (Before you say anything else…)
- Impersonal forms:
- È importante che tu venga alla riunione – (It’s important that you come to the meeting)
- Comparative clauses:
- È il libro più bello che abbia letto – (It is the most beautiful book that I read)
- Sentences composed with affinché/perché (so that), a meno che (unless), sebbene/malgrado/nonostante (although), purché (provided that), come se (as if):
- Domenica andremo al mare a meno che piova – (Sunday we will go to the beach unless it rains)
- Sentences composed with qualsiasi/qualunque (any), chiunque (whoever), dovunque (anywhere):
- Vieni fuori chiunque tu sia! – (Come out whoever you are!)
- Sentences composed with niente che/nulla che (nothing that), nessuno che (nobody that), l’unico/a che/il solo/a che (the only one that):
- Non c’è nulla che Superman non possa fare – (There is nothing that Superman can’t do)
Congiuntivo Presente | (Present Subjunctive Tense)
The present subjunctive is formed from the infinitive stem by replacing the ending with the proper subjunctive one.
Condizionale Presente – Ascoltare, Leggere, Sentire
| -are | -ere | -ire | |
| Pronoun | Ascolt-are (to listen) | Legg-ere (to read) | Sent-ire (to hear) |
| che io (I) | ascolt-i (that I listen) | legg-a (that I read) | sent-a (that I hear) |
| che tu (you – singular) | ascolt-i | legg-a | sent-a |
| che lui (he) | ascolt-i | legg-a | sent-a |
| che lei (she) | ascolt-i | legg-a | sent-a |
| che Lei (You – formal) | ascolt-i | legg-a | sent-a |
| che noi (we) | ascolt-iamo | legg-iamo | sent-iamo |
| che voi (you – plural) | ascolt-iate | legg-iate | sent-iate |
| che loro (they) | ascolt-ino | legg-ano | sent-ano |
Irregular Verbs
Irregular verbs in Italian are not irregular for all modes or tenses, in fact some verbs can be irregular in the subjunctive present tense but not in the indicative present tense or viceversa. It would be impossible and impractical for us to list all of them, instead we are going to provide a list of the most common ones.
| -are | -ere | -ire |
| Andare (to go) | Avere (to have) | Dire (to say) |
| Dare (to give) | Bere (to drink) | Capire (to understand) |
| Dimenticare (to forget) | Dovere (to have to) | Finire (to finish) |
| Fare (to do) | Essere (to be) | Preferire (to prefer) |
| Pagare (to pay) | Potere (to can) | Uscire (to exit) |
| Stare (to stay) | Rimanere (to remain) | Venire (to come) |
| Sapere (to know) | ||
| Tenere (to keep) | ||
| Volere (to want) |
Luckily, online there are many websites that automatically conjugate verbs for you, so you can look up how irregular verbs conjugate. A website we highly recommend is Sapere:Virgilio.
Congiuntivo Passato | (Past Subjunctive Tense)
The past subjunctive is used to express the similar situations as the present subjunctive above that have happened in the past.
The past subjunctive is a compound tense as it is formed by an auxiliary verb + past participle of a verb. If a verb is transitive, then it will require the auxiliary avere, while if the verb is intransitive or if the verb is reflexive, then it will require the auxiliary essere.
Congiuntivo Passato con Verbi Transitivi | (Past Subjunctive with Transitive Verbs)
Verbs are usually considered transitive when they are followed by an object that completes their meaning.
- Ascolto la musica -> (I listen to music)
- I listen to what? -> to music
Transitive verbs use the present subjunctive avere (auxiliary) + past participle to form the congiuntivo passato.
Ascoltare, Leggere, Sentire
| -are | -ere | -ire | |
| Pronoun | Ascolt-are (to listen) | Legg-ere (to read) | Sent-ire (to hear) |
| che io (I) | abbia ascoltato (that I listened) | abbia letto (that I read) | abbia sentito (that I heard) |
| che tu (you – singular) | abbia ascoltato | abbia letto | abbia sentito |
| che lui (he) | abbia ascoltato | abbia letto | abbia sentito |
| che lei (she) | abbia ascoltato | abbia letto | abbia sentito |
| che Lei (You – formal) | abbia ascoltato | abbia letto | abbia sentito |
| che noi (we) | abbiamo ascoltato | abbiamo letto | abbiamo sentito |
| che voi (you – plural) | abbiate ascoltato | abbiate letto | abbiate sentito |
| che loro (they) | abbiano ascoltato | abbiano letto | abbiano sentito |
Congiuntivo Passato con Verbi Intransitivi | (Past Subjunctive with Intransitive Verbs)
Verbs that do not need an object to complete their meaning are called intransitive.
- Io arrivo – (I arrive)
To form the congiuntivo passato with intransitive verbs we use the subjunctive present essere (auxiliary) + past participle. Note that with essere the past participle must agree in gender and number with the subject of the verb. As always, you should always check the dictionary if you are not sure whether a verb requires essere or avere.
Arrivare, Crescere, Uscire
| -are | -ere | -ire | |
| Pronoun | Arriv-are (to arrive) | Cresc-ere (to grow) | Usc-ire (to exit) |
| che io (I) | sia arrivato/a (that I arrived) | sia cresciuto/a (that I grew) | sia uscito/a (that I exited) |
| che tu (you – singular) | sia arrivato/a | sia cresciuto/a | sia uscito/a |
| che lui (he) | sia arrivato | sia cresciuto | sia uscito |
| che lei (she) | sia arrivata | sia cresciuta | sia uscita |
| che Lei (You – formal) | sia arrivato/a | sia cresciuto/a | sia uscito/a |
| che noi (we) | siamo arrivati/e | siamo cresciuti/e | siamo usciti/e |
| che voi (you – plural) | siate arrivati/e | siate cresciuti/e | siate usciti/e |
| che loro (they) | siano arrivati/e | siano cresciuti/e | siano usciti/e |
Other important things to remember:
- Some intransitive verbs are irregular and require the auxiliary avere:
- dormire – (to sleep)
- rispondere – (to answer)
- viaggiare – (to travel)
- vivere – (to live)
- Reflexive verbs require the auxiliary essere:
- alzarsi – (to get up)
- lavarsi – (to wash oneself)
- vestirsi – (to get dressed)
- The verb piacere requires the auxiliary essere:
- Sei sicuro che gli sia piaciuto il regalo? – (Are you sure that he liked the gift?)
If you need help conjugating specific verbs or irregular verbs, then we highly recommend you check out Sapere:Virgilio.
Congiuntivo Imperfetto | (Imperfect Subjunctive Tense)
The imperfect subjunctive is mainly used when talking about hypothetical scenarios in the present, in combination with the present conditional:
- Possible scenario – if + imperfect subjunctive [hypothesis] + present conditional [consequence]:
- Se io avessi più tempo potrei fare molte più cose – (If I had more time, I could do many more things)
- Impossible scenario – if + imperfect subjunctive [hypothesis] + present conditional [consequence]:
- Se io fossi alto 2 metri sarei un campione di pallacanestro – (If I were 2 meters tall, I would be a basketball champion)
Congiuntivo Imperfetto – Ascoltare, Leggere, Sentire
| -are | -ere | -ire | |
| Pronoun | Ascolt-are (to listen) | Legg-ere (to read) | Sent-ire (to hear) |
| che io (I) | ascolt-assi (that I were to listen) | legg-essi (that I were to read) | sent-issi (that I were to hear) |
| che tu (you – singular) | ascolt-assi | legg-essi | sent-issi |
| che lui (he) | ascolt-asse | legg-esse | sent-isse |
| che lei (she) | ascolt-asse | legg-esse | sent-isse |
| che Lei (You – formal) | ascolt-asse | legg-esse | sent-isse |
| che noi (we) | ascolt-assimo | legg-essimo | sent-issimo |
| che voi (you – plural) | ascolt-aste | legg-este | sent-iste |
| che loro (they) | ascolt-assero | legg-essero | sent-issero |
Irregular Verbs
Most irregular verbs in the present are also irregular in the imperfect. For example the following verbs are irregular:
- Bere (to drink)
- Dare (to give)
- Dire (to say)
- Essere (to be)
- Fare (to do)
- Stare (to stay)
There are many websites that automatically conjugate verbs for you, so you can look up how irregular verbs conjugate. One we highly recommend is Sapere:Virgilio.
Congiuntivo Trapassato | (Past Perfect Subjunctive Tense)
The past perfect and imperfect subjunctive are used similarly to the present and past subjunctive, the only difference is that with the main phrase is in the past tense, which can be the present perfect, imperfect, historic past or past perfect.
- Credevo che Giulio fosse venuto da solo – (I thought that Giulio had come alone)
The past perfect subjunctive is also used when talking about hypothetical scenarios in the past, in combination with the past conditional:
- Possible scenario – if + past perfect subjunctive [hypothesis] + passato conditional [consequence]:
- Se io avessi avuto più tempo avrei potuto fare molte più cose – (If I have had more time, I could have done many more things)
- Impossible scenario – if + past perfect subjunctive [hypothesis] + passato conditional [consequence]:
- Se io fossi stato alto 2 metri sarei stato un campione di pallacanestro – (If I had been 2 meters tall, I would have been a basketball champion)
The past subjunctive is a compound tense as it is formed by an auxiliary verb + past participle of a verb. If a verb is transitive, then it will require the auxiliary avere, while if the verb is intransitive or if the verb is reflexive, then it will require the auxiliary essere.
Congiuntivo Trapassato con Verbi Transitivi | (Past Perfect Subjunctive with Transitive Verbs)
Verbs are usually considered transitive when they are followed by an object that completes their meaning.
- Ascolto la musica -> (I listen to music)
- I listen to what? -> to music
Transitive verbs use the imperfect subjunctive avere (auxiliary) + past participle to form the congiuntivo trapassato.
Ascoltare, Leggere, Sentire
| -are | -ere | -ire | |
| Pronoun | Ascolt-are (to listen) | Legg-ere (to read) | Sent-ire (to hear) |
| che io (I) | avessi ascoltato (that I had listened) | avessi letto (that I had read) | avessi sentito (that I had heard) |
| che tu (you – singular) | avessi ascoltato | avessi letto | avessi sentito |
| che lui (he) | avesse ascoltato | avesse letto | avesse sentito |
| che lei (she) | avesse ascoltato | avesse letto | avesse sentito |
| che Lei (You – formal) | avesse ascoltato | avesse letto | avesse sentito |
| che noi (we) | avessimo ascoltato | avessimo letto | avessimo sentito |
| che voi (you – plural) | aveste ascoltato | aveste letto | aveste sentito |
| che loro (they) | avessero ascoltato | avessero letto | avessero sentito |
Congiuntivo Trapassato con Verbi Intransitivi | (Past Perfect Subjunctive with Intransitive Verbs)
Verbs that do not need an object to complete their meaning are called intransitive.
- Io arrivo – (I arrive)
To form the congiuntivo trapassato with intransitive verbs we use the subjunctive imperfect essere (auxiliary) + past participle. Note that with essere the past participle must agree in gender and number with the subject of the verb. As always, you should always check the dictionary if you are not sure whether a verb requires essere or avere.
Arrivare, Crescere, Uscire
| -are | -ere | -ire | |
| Pronoun | Arriv-are (to arrive) | Cresc-ere (to grow) | Usc-ire (to exit) |
| che io (I) | fossi arrivato/a (that I had arrived) | fossi cresciuto/a (that I had grown) | fossi uscito/a (that I had exited) |
| che tu (you – singular) | fossi arrivato/a | fossi cresciuto/a | fossi uscito/a |
| che lui (he) | fosse arrivato | fosse cresciuto | fosse uscito |
| che lei (she) | fosse arrivata | fosse cresciuta | fosse uscita |
| che Lei (You – formal) | fosse arrivato/a | fosse cresciuto/a | fosse uscito/a |
| che noi (we) | fossimo arrivati/e | fossimo cresciuti/e | fossimo usciti/e |
| che voi (you – plural) | foste arrivati/e | foste cresciuti/e | foste usciti/e |
| che loro (they) | fossero arrivati/e | fossero cresciuti/e | fossero usciti/e |
Other important things to remember:
- Some intransitive verbs are irregular and require the auxiliary avere:
- dormire – (to sleep)
- rispondere – (to answer)
- viaggiare – (to travel)
- vivere – (to live)
- Reflexive verbs require the auxiliary essere:
- alzarsi – (to get up)
- lavarsi – (to wash oneself)
- vestirsi – (to get dressed)
- The verb piacere requires the auxiliary essere:
- Ero sicuro che gli fosse piaciuto il regalo – (I was sure that he liked the gift)
If you need help conjugating specific verbs or irregular verbs, then we highly recommend you check out Sapere:Virgilio.
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