Detail of the Poseidon statue with water horses and creatures part of the Trevi fountain in Rome. A group of white marble statues
Italian Articles

The imperfect and past perfect subjunctive: How to form and use them in Italian?

By: Silvia Giorgini Althoen Fri Aug 30 2024
Italian
Verbs, Subjunctive Mood

In Italian, the subjunctive mood helps us express our inner thoughts and emotions. The imperfect subjunctive (congiuntivo imperfetto) and past perfect subjunctive (congiuntivo trapassato) are two of the four tenses we can use in this mood (the other two being present and past). We classically use these tenses when the main situation we’re talking about is in the past, for example:

  • imperfect subjunctive

    Ho pensato che venisse.

    I thought that s/he would come.

    The thinking happened in the past.
  • past perfect subjunctive

    Sembrava che fossero tornati.

    It looked like they had returned.

    It looked that way in the past.

However, there are a few other cases where you’ll use the imperfect or past perfect subjunctive as well! Now, leave the present behind, and enter the realm of possibilities, wishes, and feelings in the past. Ready to dive into this world? Let’s go!

Table of Contents

    How to form the imperfect subjunctive in Italian?

    The imperfect subjunctive in Italian is formed by dropping the infinitive endings and adding the appropriate imperfect subjunctive endings. As always, regular and irregular verbs will be a little different, but we have some cool tricks in store for you!

    Regular verbs

    To form the imperfect subjunctive of regular verbs, we need to start by identifying the three main verb groups. Let’s tickle our memory and refresh the Italian “verb trilogy.” In Italian the three main verb groups are those ending in -are, -ere, and -ire.

    When conjugating you would normally drop the full infinitive ending (-are, -ere, -ire) and then add the tense endings. However, check out this trick my students use to form the imperfetto congiuntivo, by just dropping -re!

    Subject Pronoun
    -are
    -ere
    -ire
    parlare(to talk)
    avere(to have)
    aprire(to open)

    io(I)

    parl-assi

    av-essi

    apr-issi

    tu(you)

    parl-assi

    av-essi

    apr-issi

    lei/lui(s/he)

    parl-asse

    av-esse

    apr-isse

    noi(we)

    parl-assimo

    av-essimo

    apr-issimo

    voi(you all)

    parl-aste

    av-este

    apr-iste

    loro(they)

    parl-assero

    av-essero

    apr-issero

    Do you see the pattern?

    • Leave the first vowel of the infinitive ending (a, e, i) on the stem!

    • All three conjugations use the same imperfect subjunctive endings: -ssi, -sse, -ssimo, -ste, -ssero.

    • The io(I) and tu(you) forms will have the same ending: -ssi, so remember to always indicate the subject to avoid confusion:

      Pensavano che tu arrivassi domani.

      They thought that you would arrive tomorrow.

      Speravate che io arrivassi domani.

      You hoped that I would arrive tomorrow.

    Irregular verbs

    Irregular verbs in the imperfect subjunctive also have the same endings as above – they just have an irregular stem which you have to memorize. Ready for more good news? Most of the verbs are regular in the imperfetto congiuntivo, so learn the most common five by heart, and check the link for a handy printable with irregular verbs in the imperfect subjunctive for the rest!

    Verb
    io & tu
    lei/lui/Lei
    noi
    voi
    loro

    essere

    to be

    fossi

    fosse

    fossimo

    foste

    fossero

    dare

    to give

    dessi

    desse

    dessimo

    deste

    dessero

    stare

    to stay

    stessi

    stesse

    stessimo

    steste

    stessero

    fare

    to do

    facessi

    facesse

    facessimo

    faceste

    facessero

    dire

    to say

    dicessi

    dicesse

    dicessimo

    diceste

    dicessero

    Tip

    If you know the irregular stems of the imperfect indicative , you can “reuse” them (except for essere ) in the imperfect subjunctive!

    How to form the past perfect subjunctive in Italian?

    The past perfect subjunctive, or trapassato congiuntivo, is a compound tense, which means that once you know the imperfect subjunctive of avere(to have) and essere( to be) you just add the past participle and you have it!

    avere(to have) / essere(to be)

    past participle

    Non sapeva che voi aveste comprato casa.

    He didn’t know you had bought a house.

    Pensavo che Giulia si fosse laureata.

    I thought Giulia graduated.

    You can find the conjugations of essere and avere in the verb tables above!

    Tip

    As with all compound tenses, remember to make the agreement in gender and number when using essere! Notice in the example above, that laureata matches the gender of Giulia.

    When to use the imperfect or past perfect subjunctive in Italian?

    The imperfect and past perfect subjunctive follow the same “triggers” as the subjunctive in any tense, but which one you use will most often depend on when the various actions happen.

    You can read all about these “subjunctive triggers” in our post on how to use the Italian subjunctive, but here are the two main points, to refresh your memory!

    • The subjunctive is mostly used in subordinate clauses, introduced by the word che(that) when the subjects of the two clauses are different:

      Credevo che Mario amasse questa città.

      I believed that Mario loved this city.

    • Additionally the main clause must have something in it that “triggers” the subjunctive.

      • Usually, these are expressions that indicate the following clause is something that is a thought, plan, opinion, or feeling, inside someone’s head, for example:

        • dubitare che...(to doubt that...)

        • pensare che...(to think that...)

        • è importante che…(it's important that...)

      • Sometimes the “trigger” is a conjunction like benché/sebbene(although)or an indefinite expression like chiunque(whoever) instead.

    So the imperfect and past perfect subjunctive follow the same triggers as the subjunctive in any tense. How will you know which one to use? By looking at when the different actions are taking place. Let’s have a look!

    When to use the imperfect subjunctive in Italian?

    Here are the main cases where you can use the imperfect subjunctive in Italian:

    • When the verb in the main clause is past tense and the subjunctive action happens at about the same time:

      imperfect subjunctive

      Ho pensato che arrivassero insieme.

      I thought they would arrive together.

      I pictured that the thinking and the arriving happening at about the same time.
      TIP
      The verb in the main clause can be in any past tense!

      Here are some examples with other sorts of subjunctive triggers. Notice that the main clause is always in the past tense:

      essere + adjective

      Era importante che parlassimo.

      It was important that we talked.

      an impersonal expression

      Sembrava che piovesse.

      It looked like it would rain.

      a conjunction

      Abbiamo fatto il possibile, affinché andasse in Italia.

      We did all we could so that s/he could go to Italy.

      an indefinite expression

      Gli dicevano sempre di sì, qualunque cosa dicesse.

      They always said yes, no matter what s/he said.

    • When the main clause is in the present conditional:

      present conditionalimperfect subjunctive

      Vorrei che leggesse questo libro.

      I wish s/he would read this book.

      I want that s/he read this book.

      When paired with the present conditional, the imperfetto congiuntivo can refer to an action in the present or the future, but there are some special cases.

      We form sentences that explain what would happen if something else happened (also known as type 2 hypotheticals) like this:

      se(if)

      imperfect subjunctive

      present conditional

      Se tu finissi il tuo saggio entro la prossima settimana, saremmo contenti.

      If you finish your essay by next week, we will be happy.

      TIP
      You can switch the positions of the clauses. For the example above, you could say: Saremmo contenti se tu finissi il tuo saggio entro la prossima settimana, and the meaning would not change!
    • with come se(as if):

      When a subordinate clause is introduced by come se we use the imperfect subjunctive to advance a hypothesis that may or may not be true about the action in the main clause.

      • Parla come se io non fossi qui.

        She talks as if I weren’t here.

      • È rimasto in silenzio, come se avesse paura di parlare.

        He remained silent, as if he were afraid of talking.

      • Se ne andranno da qui, come se niente fosse.

        They will leave here, as if nothing happened.

      Notice that the main clause can be in any tense (present, passato prossimo, imperfect, or future)!

    • with magari(if only) to express a wish/desire in the present:

      Magari telefonasse di più!

      If only s/he called more often!

      Magari is a little magic word in italian, and you can learn more about it by clicking the link!
    Important

    Like the imperfetto indicativo, the imperfetto congiuntivo does not clearly indicate when an action started or finished in the past, and it has a nuance of uncertainty.

    When to use the past perfect subjunctive in Italian?

    The past perfect subjunctive uses are mostly the same as for the imperfect subjunctive, (same “triggers”), but in this case the action in the second clause has happened before the one in the main clause.

    • When the verb in the main clause is past tense, but the subjunctive action ought to have happened earlier:

      past perfect subjunctive

      Sembrava che avessero capito.

      It looked like they had understood.

      It looked like they understood it before some past moment.
    • When the present conditional OR past conditional is in the main clause, and the subjunctive action ought to have happened before:

      • present conditionalpast perfect subjunctive

        Vorrei che avessero letto questo libro.

        I would like them to have read this book.

        I want the reading to be finished before now.
      • past conditionalpast perfect subjunctive

        Avrei voluto che avessero letto questo libro.

        I would have liked them to have read this book.

        I want the reading to be finished before some past moment.
    • To talk about impossible hypotheticals that say what would have happened if something else had taken place (a.k.a. Type 3 Hypotheticals):

      se(if)

      past perfect subjunctive

      past conditional

      Se tu fossi venuta per le feste, saremmo stati contenti.

      If you had come for the holidays, we would have been happy.

    • with magari(if only) to express a wish/desire in the past:

      Magari tu avessi chiamato prima di venire!

      If only you had called before coming!

    Important

    In a sentence with the present tense in the main clause, you may still find the imperfect subjunctive or the past perfect subjunctive, but to do this, another past action needs to be expressed as well. For example:

    • present tenseimperfect subjunctive

      Penso che Maria avesse 22 anni quando si è laureata.

      I think Maria was 22 when she graduated.

      She was 22 at the same time that she graduated (a second past event!)
    • present tensepast perfect subjunctive

      Credo che l'arbitro avesse visto il fallo, prima di fischiare.

      I think the referee had seen the foul before whistling.

      He saw the foul before he whistled (a second past event!)

    Summing Up

    The subjunctive imperfetto and trapassato are used much like the other subjunctive tenses. Just remember that:

    • It’s mostly used in subordinate clauses, and its use depends on what is in the main clause and if the main verb is in the past or the present or past conditional:

      • Is it a D.O.V.E. verb?

      • Is it an impersonal expression?

      • Is it essere + adjective?

      • Is it an indefinite expression?

      • Is there a conjunction like benché/sebbene? (imperfect/past perfect subjunctive)

        imperfect/past perfect subjunctive
    • OR:

      • Is it introduced by magari → imperfect/past perfect

      • Do you have an “if clause”?

        • SE + imperfect subjunctive + conditional present OR

        • SE + past perfect subjunctive + conditional past

    Want to see how cool all the subjunctive combinations in Italian are? Check out the chart in the link!

    Let’s have fun with some activities on the imperfect and past perfect subjunctive!

    Downloadable Resources

    Elevate your language-learning journey to new heights with the following downloadable resources.

    To embark on your next language adventure, join Mango on social!

    Ready to take the next step?

    The Mango Languages learning platform is designed to get you speaking like a local quickly and easily.

    Mango app open on multiple devices