Essere (surprise, surprise!), dare, and stare are completely irregular:

Quando si usa?

We use the imperfect subjunctive when the verb in the main or independent clause is in the passato prossimo, the imperfect, the trapassato prossimo, or (don’t be alarmed!) the conditional and expresses a subjunctive condition.

Es. Credevo che i media dovessero essere imparziali.

(I used to believe that the media was supposed to be impartial.)

Es. Speravamo che il film fosse una commedia.

(We were hoping that the film was a comedy.)

Es. Giuseppe desiderava che noi leggessimo il suo articolo.

(Giuseppe wanted us to read his article.)

All of these examples follow a formula that probably makes sense to you. The independent clause is in the imperfect (indicative) and the dependent clause is also in the imperfect (subjunctive). There’s a certain balance there, and it makes sense in terms of time (past going with past). It’s true – imperfects like to stick together.

Another tense that enjoys the companionship of the imperfect subjunctive is the conditional (present and past). That seems strange because it asks us to use the past tense to talk about the present. Try to get past this conceptually and just get used to the idea that the two go together. If you see the conditional in the independent clause, it requires the imperfect subjunctive in the dependent clause.

Es. Vorrei che voi veniste al cinema con me.

(I would like you to come to the cinema with me.)

Es. Mi piacerebbe che i media fossero imparziali.

(I wish the media were impartial.)

Il congiuntivo trapassato

You have now seen the present, past, and imperfect subjunctive forms. The last one is the past perfect subjunctive, or the congiuntivo trapassato. Just like the trapassato prossimo, it is a compound form and is used to express actions that took place before other actions in the past. The biggest thing to consider for the conjugation is the imperfect subjunctive form of the two auxiliary verbs, essere and avere.

Come si forma?

Quando si usa?

We use the congiuntivo trapassato when the verb in the main clause is in a past tense (passato prossimo, imperfect or trapassato prossimo) or the conditional and expresses a subjunctive condition, and the action in the dependent clause occurs before the action in the main clause.

Es. Non sapevo che voi aveste già visto quel film.

(I didn’t know you had already seen that film.)

Es. La prof sperava che gli studenti avessero già fatto la lettura prima della lezione.

(The professor hoped the students had already done the reading before class.)

Es. Avrei voluto che la conferenza stampa fosse finita un po’ prima.

(I would have liked the press conference to finish a bit earlier.)

Remember that words like già (already), non…più (not anymore), and non…ancora (not yet) are common with the trapassato forms, and they are usually placed between the auxiliary verb and the past participle.

Struttura 7.3 Il periodo ipotetico

You’ve probably expressed hypotheticals in English plenty of times. They are those sentences that express what will or might or would occur if certain other things happen. Sometimes these hypotheticals are realistic and sometimes they’re pure imagination. The one thing they have in common is the big “if”, or se in Italian, which expresses the condition that leads to a desired or predicted result.

Come si forma?

Similarly to English, hypotheticals in Italian have three general formulas, according to the plausibility of the condition.

Quando si usa?

Let’s look at these three hypothetical conditions in a different way.

1. reality! Things that are likely to happen if a realistic condition occurs. These hypotheticals use the indicative mood, because they belong to the realm of the objective and the real. The biggest difference between this hypothetical in Italian and the same idea in English is the tenses. In English, we use the present indicative in the “if” clause and the future in the independent clause (If it rains tomorrow, I WILL stay home). In Italian, you can use the present or the future, but you must be consistent and use the same tense in both clauses.

Es. Se domani piove, rimango a casa.

Es. Se domani pioverà, rimarrò a casa.

In these hypotheticals, it is also possible to use quando instead of se.

Es. Quando arrivo a casa, guardo il film.

(When I get home, I’ll watch a movie.)

2. improbability! “If I had a million dollars, I’d be rich!” This hypothetical expresses an unlikely condition and its possible result. In this case, the formula is similar in Italian to what it is in English. Se + imperfect subjunctive in the “if” clause and the conditional present or past in the independent clause.

Es. Se avessi un milione di dollari, sarei ricco.

(If I had a million dollars, I’d be rich.)

Es. Se fossi il Presidente degli Stati Uniti, cambierei molte cose.

(If I were the President of the United States, I would change a lot of things.)

3. impossibility! This is the form you use when that ship was sailed, or when it was never going to sail to begin with. The formula is also similar to English: se + past perfect subjunctive in the “if” clause and the conditional present or past in the independent clause.

Es. Se mi fossi svegliato prima, sarei arrivato in orario.

(If I had woken up earlier, I would have arrived on time.)

Es. Se avessi potuto studiare l’italiano alla scuola superiore, avrei cominciato prima!

(If I could have studied Italian in high school, I would have started earlier!)

Struttura 7.4 La concordanza dei tempi

You have probably noticed in your study of the subjunctive thus far that there is a certain order and balance in the way these types of sentences are constructed. This is not by chance! There are specific rules that dictate which tenses are used in which situations. Some of these rules are logical – the present tense in the main clause requires the present tense in the subordinate clause, for example – and some require a bit more reflection and practice. This is called tense sequencing, or the concordanza dei tempi, and while it’s a pretty advanced grammatical topic, you’re ready for it!

Come si forma e quando si usa?

The good news about tense sequencing is that there’s nothing new to learn – you’ve already been formulating sentences like this in the subjunctive. You’re just reinforcing WHY you’ve been doing it and making sure you understand the method behind the madness. There are two general sequences we will consider, which are dictated by the tense used in the independent, or main, clause.

1. Present, future, imperative

If the verb in the main clause is in the present, future, or imperative, the dependent clause is in either the present subjunctive or the past subjunctive.