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 subjunctiveHo pensato che venisse.Translation: I thought that s/he would come.The thinking happened in the past.
- past perfect subjunctiveSembrava che fossero tornati.Translation: 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!
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
io meaning I | parl-assi | av-essi | apr-issi |
tu meaning you | parl-assi | av-essi | apr-issi |
lei/lui meaning s/he | parl-asse | av-esse | apr-isse |
noi meaning we | parl-assimo | av-essimo | apr-issimo |
voi meaning you all | parl-aste | av-este | apr-iste |
loro meaning 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 meaning I and tu meaning you forms will have the same ending: -ssi, so remember to always indicate the subject to avoid confusion:
Pensavano che tu arrivassi domani.Translation: They thought that you would arrive tomorrow.Speravate che io arrivassi domani.Translation: 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 Translation: to be | fossi | fosse | fossimo | foste | fossero |
dare Translation: to give | dessi | desse | dessimo | deste | dessero |
stare Translation: to stay | stessi | stesse | stessimo | steste | stessero |
fare Translation: to do | facessi | facesse | facessimo | faceste | facessero |
dire Translation: to say | dicessi | dicesse | dicessimo | diceste | dicessero |
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 meaning to have and essere meaning to be you just add the past participle and you have it!
avere meaning to have / essere meaning to be
past participle
You can find the conjugations of essere and avere in the verb tables above!
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 meaning that when the subjects of the two clauses are different:
Credevo che Mario amasse questa città.Translation: 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... meaning to doubt that...
pensare che... meaning to think that...
è importante che… meaning it's important that...
Sometimes the “trigger” is a conjunction like benché/sebbene meaning althoughor an indefinite expression like chiunque meaning 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 subjunctiveHo pensato che arrivassero insieme.Translation: I thought they would arrive together.I pictured that the thinking and the arriving happening at about the same time.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.Translation: It was important that we talked.an impersonal expression
Sembrava che piovesse.Translation: It looked like it would rain.a conjunction
Abbiamo fatto il possibile, affinché andasse in Italia.Translation: We did all we could so that s/he could go to Italy.an indefinite expression
Gli dicevano sempre di sì, qualunque cosa dicesse.Translation: They always said yes, no matter what s/he said.When the main clause is in the present conditional:
present conditionalimperfect subjunctiveVorrei che leggesse questo libro.Translation: I wish s/he would read this book.Literally: 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 meaning if
imperfect subjunctive
present conditional
Se tu finissi il tuo saggio entro la prossima settimana, saremmo contenti.Translation: If you finish your essay by next week, we will be happy.with come se meaning 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.Translation: She talks as if I weren’t here.
- È rimasto in silenzio, come se avesse paura di parlare.Translation: He remained silent, as if he were afraid of talking.
- Se ne andranno da qui, come se niente fosse.Translation: 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 meaning if only to express a wish/desire in the present:
Magari telefonasse di più!Translation: If only s/he called more often!
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 subjunctiveSembrava che avessero capito.Translation: 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 subjunctiveVorrei che avessero letto questo libro.Translation: I would like them to have read this book.I want the reading to be finished before now.
- past conditionalpast perfect subjunctiveAvrei voluto che avessero letto questo libro.Translation: 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 meaning if
past perfect subjunctive
past conditional
Se tu fossi venuta per le feste, saremmo stati contenti.Translation: If you had come for the holidays, we would have been happy.with magari meaning if only to express a wish/desire in the past:
Magari tu avessi chiamato prima di venire!Translation: If only you had called before coming!
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)
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!
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