The Italian Subjunctive Mood: a Guide to the Congiuntivo Imperfetto
On this page
The congiuntivo imperfetto is the imperfect tense of the subjunctive mood. It is different from the indicative imperfect: compare era with fosse. Its use depends on the construction and on the relationship between the clauses, not simply on translating an English past tense.
In this lesson we will be looking in depth at the congiuntivo imperfetto. Ready? Let’s start!
Using the congiuntivo imperfetto
The imperfect subjunctive commonly appears after a past main verb in constructions expressing opinions, wishes, doubts or fears. It also occurs in hypothetical conditions and wishes about the present or future, so its name does not mean it always describes past time.
The Italian imperfect subjunctive is used to:
- express personal considerations and feelings about something:
| Pensavo che Élodie fosse francese | I thought Élodie was French |
| Credevo che Amelia fosse più giovane | I thought Amelia was younger |
- say what you would do:
| Se fossi in te, non mi fiderei di Arianna | If I were you, I wouldn’t trust Arianna |
- talk about what you wanted someone to do in the past:
| Desideravo solo che mi dicessi la verità | I just wanted you to tell me the truth |
| Elvira voleva che la aiutassimo a tinteggiare le pareti di casa | Elvira wanted us to help her paint her house walls |
| Perché sono passati tutti questi giorni senza che nessuno facesse nulla? | Why have all these days gone by without anyone doing anything about it? |
- express wishes:
| Elisa sperava che tu fossi sincero con lei | Elisa hoped you were sincere with her |
| Speravo che non si arrivassea questo punto | I hoped we wouldn’t get to this point |
- express fear:
| Temevo che Loredana perdesse l’aereo | I was afraid Loredana would miss the plane |
- express doubts and uncertainty:
| Avevo i miei dubbi che Angelica fosse onesta | I suspected that Angelica was not honest |
- talk about how you wanted things to be in the past:
| Volevo solo che mi lasciaste in pace | I just wanted you to leave me alone |
After a past main verb that calls for subjunctive, congiuntivo imperfetto commonly describes a simultaneous or later situation. For an earlier completed event, use congiuntivo trapassato: Pensavo che fosse già partita (“I thought she had already left”). A past main verb alone does not automatically require subjunctive.
The hypothetical period
The congiuntivo imperfetto is also used to express hypotheses in the hypothetical period (periodo ipotetico). In this case, it is used in a dependent clause introduced by se (if) when we have the condizionale presente in the main clause, to talk about something that might happen.
The hypothetical phrase is made of two clauses. The subordinate clause expresses a supposition, whereas the main clause expresses a consequence. You can use this construction to talk about improbable yet possible situations.
Let’s see some examples:
| Se avessi una casa più grande, adotterei altri due cani | If I had a bigger house, I would adopt two more dogs (I am talking about what I would do in an imagined situation) |
| Cosa faresti se vincessi la lotteria? | If you won the lottery, what would you do? |
| Se quelle malelingue sapessero quello che penso di loro, parlerebbero di me ancora peggio | If all those rumour-mongers knew what I think of them, they’d talk about me even worse |
Constructing the congiuntivo imperfetto
The imperfect subjunctive of regular verbs is formed by dropping the infinitive endings and adding the appropriate endings.
To make the congiuntivo imperfetto of regular verbs ending in -are, take off the infinitive ending to find the stem of the verb and add the following endings:
- –assi for “I”
- –assi for “you”
- –asse for “he”/ “she”/ “it”
- –assimo for “we”
- –aste for “you (plural)”
- –assero for “they”
Tornare (to return, to go back)
(che) io tornassi
(che) tu tornassi
(che) lui/lei tornasse
(che) noi tornassimo
(che) voi tornaste
(che) loro tornassero
To make the congiuntivo imperfetto of regular verbs ending in -ere, take off the infinitive ending to find the stem of the verb and add the following endings:
- –essi for “I”
- –essi for “you”
- –esse for “he”/ “she”/ “it”
- –essimo for “we”
- –este for “you (plural)”
- –essero for “they”
Vendere (to sell)
(che) io vendessi
(che) tu vendessi
(che) lui/lei vendesse
(che) noi vendessimo
(che) voi vendeste
(che) loro vendessero
To make the congiuntivo imperfetto of regular verbs ending in -ire, take off the infinitive ending to find the stem of the verb and add the following endings:
- –issi for “I”
- –issi for “you”
- –isse for “he”/ “she”/ “it”
- –issimo for “we”
- –iste for “you (plural)”
- –issero for “they”
Fornire (to provide)
(che) io fornissi
(che) tu fornissi
(che) lui/lei fornisse
(che) noi fornissimo
(che) voi forniste
(che) loro fornissero
As you might have noticed, the endings are the same for all conjugations, except for the characteristic vowel that each conjugation maintains. The first and the second persons singular are the same.
In the regular paradigms below, stress falls on the penultimate syllable except in noi and loro, which stress the third-to-last syllable: tor-NAS-si, tor-NAS-si-mo, tor-NAS-se-ro.
Irregular verbs in the imperfect subjunctive
Some verbs are irregular in the imperfect subjunctive, which means that they do not follow the regular conjugation patterns.
The verb essere (to be) forms the congiuntivo imperfetto irregularly.
Essere (to be)
(che) io fossi
(che) tu fossi
(che) lui/lei fosse
(che) noi fossimo
(che) voi foste
(che) loro fossero
These are some more common irregular verbs:
Dare (to give)
(che) io dessi
(che) tu dessi
(che) lui/lei desse
(che) noi dessimo
(che) voi deste
(che) loro dessero
Fare (to do, to make)
(che) io facessi
(che) tu facessi
(che) lui/lei facesse
(che) noi facessimo
(che) voi faceste
(che) loro facessero
Dire (to say)
(che) io dicessi
(che) tu dicessi
(che) lui/lei dicesse
(che) noi dicessimo
(che) voi diceste
(che) loro dicessero
Stare (to stay)
(che) io stessi
(che) tu stessi
(che) lui/lei stesse
(che) noi stessimo
(che) voi steste
(che) loro stessero
Porre (to put, to set)
(che) io ponessi
(che) tu ponessi
(che) lui/lei ponesse
(che) noi ponessimo
(che) voi poneste
(che) loro ponessero
Bere (to drink)
(che) io bevessi
(che) tu bevessi
(che) lui/lei bevesse
(che) noi bevessimo
(che) voi beveste
(che) loro bevessero
Trarre (to pull)
(che) io traessi
(che) tu traessi
(che) lui/lei traesse
(che) noi traessimo
(che) voi traeste
(che) loro traessero
Tradurre (to translate)
(che) io traducessi
(che) tu traducessi
(che) lui/lei traducesse
(che) noi traducessimo
(che) voi traduceste
(che) loro traducessero
Fortunately, the verb avere (to have) is regular in the congiuntivo imperfetto:
Avere (to have)
(che) io avessi
(che) tu avessi
(che) lui/lei avesse
(che) noi avessimo
(che) voi aveste
(che) loro avessero
Which expressions require the congiuntivo imperfetto?
These constructions can use the imperfect subjunctive in the contexts shown below. They do not all require this tense in every use: magari can mean “maybe,” se can introduce a real condition, and anche se can introduce a factual concession with indicative.
- Magari – If only
| Magari potessi tornare indietro | If only I could turn back time |
| Magari fosse così semplice | If only it were so simple |
- Caso mai – In the case that, in case
| Caso mai non vi rivedessi: buon pomeriggio, buonasera e buonanotte! (cit. The Truman Show) | In case I don’t see you: good afternoon, good evening, and good night! |
- Come se – As if
| Fa’ come se fossi a casa tua | Make yourself at home (Literally: do exactly as if you were at your home) |
- Anche se – Even if
| I miei cani mi amerebbero anche se fossi povero, brutto e malato | My dogs would love me even if I were poor, ugly and sick |
- Come se – As if
| Mi raccomando, comportati come se non sapessi niente! | Behave as if you know nothing, OK? |
- Se – If
| Se non potessi avere figli, valuterei senza dubbio l’adozione | If I couldn’t have children, I would surely consider adoption |
- Affinché – So that
| Accompagnammo Andrea in ambulatorio affinché il medico controllasse lo stato della sua gamba | We took Andrea to the clinic to have the doctor check his leg |
- Prima che – Before
| Ci sono voluti diciotto lunghi mesi prima che divorziassimo | It took eighteen long months before we divorced |
- Nel caso in cui – In case that
| Nel caso in cui riscontrassi delle irregolarità, ti preghiamo di segnalarcelo | Should you find any problems, please let us know |
In careful standard Italian, many constructions expressing hope, doubt, expectation or fear use subjunctive in the che-clause. The governing expression and its meaning determine mood; the intended time relationship determines the tense.
These verbs often introduce subjunctive in opinion, desire or uncertainty constructions. Polarity and meaning matter: affirmative so che (“I know that”) normally takes indicative, while non sapevo che fumassi can take subjunctive. Do not treat every verb in the list as an unconditional trigger.
Pensare (to think)
Non sapere (not to know), in contexts such as non sapevo che fumassi
Sperare (to hope)
Dubitare (to doubt)
Temere (to fear)
Credere (to believe)
Desiderare (to wish)
Immaginare (to imagine)
Sospettare (to suspect)
Supporre (to suppose)
Let’s see some examples:
| La nonna pensava che partissimo oggi per le vacanze | Grandma thought we were leaving today for the holidays |
| Non sapevo che tu fumassi | I didn’t know you smoked |
| Non immaginavo che tu e Francesco vi conosceste | I didn’t imagine that you and Francesco knew each other |
When these opinion or desire constructions have the same subject in both parts, Italian commonly uses an infinitive with di: Speravo di partire. This is a useful pattern, not a rule that every same-subject subordinate clause must be infinitive.
| Spero di poter collaborare nuovamente con voi | I hope to work again with you |
| Temo di non essere l’unica in questa situazione | I’m afraid I’m not the only one in this situation |
These phrases can introduce imperfect subjunctive in suitable contexts. The tense depends on the time relationship, not on the phrase alone:
- Si diceva che – It was said that
| Si diceva che gli spiriti maligni infestassero il castello | It was said that evil spirits haunted the castle |
- Non è detto che – Not necessarily
| Non è detto che fosse la soluzione migliore | It is not certain that it was the best solution |
- Bastava che – Just had to, only needed to
| Bastava che mi dessi un colpo di telefono | You only needed to give me a ring |
- Bisognava che – It was necessary that
| Bisognava che Leonardo si impegnasse di più | It was necessary for Leonardo to work harder |
- Era ora che – It was time
| Dopo dodici anni di fidanzamento, era ora che vi sposaste! |
After twelve years together, it was time for you to marry! |
- Era meglio che – It was better
| Era meglio che la riunione si facesseoggi alle 16:00 |
It was better to have the meeting today at 4pm |
- Non era giusto che – It was unfair
| Non era giusto che Giuseppe ti trattasse così | It was so unfair for Giuseppe to treat you like that |
- Era un peccato che – It was a pity that
| Era un peccato che tu non potessi venire | It was a pity that you weren’t able to come |
- Era opportuno che – It was appropriate
| Era opportuno che andassi a trovare Barbara all’ospedale | It was appropriate for me (or you) to visit Barbara at the hospital |
- Sembrava che – It seemed like
| Alessandra era talmente pallida che sembrava che stesse per svenire | Alessandra was so pale that she looked like she was going to faint |
The congiuntivo imperfetto is also used in sentences introduced by:
- indefinite pronouns or adjectives like qualsiasi/qualunque (any), chiunque (whoever) and dovunque/ovunque (anywhere):
| Ovunque andasse, l’ex marito la seguiva | Her ex-husband followed her wherever she went |
- adjectives or pronouns niente che (nothing that), l’unico/il solo che (the only one that) and nessuno che (nobody that):
| L’unico che sapesse tener testa a quell’uomo era Rossano | Rossano was the only one who could stand up to that man |
| Niente che non si potesse risolvere | Nothing that couldn’t be solved |
To sum up…
- The congiuntivo imperfetto of regular -are verbs is formed by replacing the ending of the infinitive with -assi, -assi, -asse, -assimo, -aste and -assero.
- The congiuntivo imperfetto of regular -ere verbs is formed by replacing the ending of the infinitive with -essi, -essi, -esse, -essimo, -este and -essero.
- The congiuntivo imperfetto of regular -ire verbs is formed by replacing the ending of the infinitive with -issi, -issi, -isse, -issimo, -iste and -issero.
- It is to be used when talking about how you wanted things to be and expressing wishes, hopes, opinions and fears in the past.
| Speravo che stavolta la cena di Natale si facesse a casa mia | I hoped to have the Christmas dinner at my house this time |
- The congiuntivo imperfetto is used to talk about imagined situations and express hypothetical conditions in the hypothetical period (periodo ipotetico).
| Se guadagnassi di più, assumerei dei collaboratori | If I earned more, I would hire employees |
Hope you learned about the congiuntivo imperfetto with this article. Keep practising!
