Italian All-in-One For Dummies (162 page)
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Table 6-1 Irregular Present Tense Subjunctive Verbs
Infinitive | Conjugation | Example |
andare | vada, andiamo, andiate, vadano | Ã |
avere | abbia, abbiamo, abbiate, abbiano | Non so chi abbia il mio libro. |
bere | beva, beviamo, beviate, bevano | Si dice che lui beva troppo. |
dare | dia, diamo, diate, diano | Vuoi |
dire | dica, diciamo, diciate, dicano | Sembra |
dovere | debba | Peccato che dobbiate partire così presto. |
essere | sia, siamo, siate, siano | Voglio |
fare | faccia, facciamo, facciate, facciano | Ã |
potere | possa, possiamo, possiate, possano | Ã |
proporre | proponga, proponiamo, proponiate, propongano | Cosa vuoi che io ti proponga? |
rimanere | rimanga, rimaniamo, rimaniate, rimangano | Sperano |
sapere | sappia, sappiamo, sappiate, sappiano | Bisogna |
scegliere | scelga, scegliamo, scegliate, scelgano | Mi dispiace |
stare | stia, stiamo, stiate, stiano | Immagino |
uscire | esca, usciamo, usciate, escano | Non voglio che tu esca senza il cappotto. |
venire | venga, veniamo, veniate, vengano | Può darsi che veniamo in Italia. |
volere | voglia, vogliamo, vogliate, vogliano | Spero che Emilia voglia andare alla spiaggia oggi. |
Making the Present Subjunctive a Valuable Tool
You have some options when it comes to using the present subjunctive. You can use it in different ways and in different expressions, all of which are presented in the following sections.
Expressing desires, wishes, commands, emotions, doubts, and beliefs
A subjunctive verb almost always appears in the dependent clause, generally introduced by the word
che
(
that
). The verb in the main clause, on the other hand, has to be a verb or expression that requires the subjunctive. Also note that the main and the dependent clause have to have two different subjects:
[Io]
desidero che tu vada agli allenamenti
versus
[Io] desidero andare agli allenamenti,
where the second verb is an infinitive and no
che
is required.
Even though the word
che
separates the dependent and independent clauses in the following setences, the indicative always appears with the verb
sapere
(
to know
), and the subjunctive always goes with the verb
dubitare
(
to doubt
).
Remember:
You use the indicative mood when expressing certainty and objectivity and the subjunctive mood when expressing doubt, uncertainty, opinion, or emotions.
Sapere
is certainty;
dubitare
is
uncertainty.
So
che
sei
intelligente.
(
I know that you are intelligent.
)
Dubito
che tu
sia
intelligente.
(
I doubt that you are intelligent.
)
The verbs in
Table 6-2
all require that their accompanying verbs be in the subjunctive, because they express desires, wishes, commands, emotions, doubts, or disbeliefs. All these expressions should be followed by
che
and, in this chapter, the present subjunctive.
Working with impersonal expressions
Ready for Round Two? Another instance when you use the subjunctive is when a verb in the main clause is an impersonal expression and the subject of the dependent clause is articulated:
Ã
importante
studiare
.
(
It's important to study.
) In this example, no subject is articulated.
Ã
importante che io
studi
.
(
It's important that I study.
) In this example, the subject in the dependent clause is specified, so you use the subjunctive.
An
impersonal expression
has no specific subject and often translates as
one,
you,
or
it.
Table 6-3
provides you with a list of common impersonal expressions. These impersonal expressions usually start with the third person singular of the verb
essere
(
to be
):
Ã
(
à bene che . . .
[
It's a good thing that
. . .]). Not all impersonal expressions, however, require the subjunctive. For example,
à certo che
. . .
(
It's certain that
. . .) accepts both the subjunctive and the indicative because it expresses a certainty:
Ã
certo che lui
viene
(
It's certain that he's going to come
) is as correct as
à certo che lui venga
(
It's certain that he's going to come
). So to recognize the need for impersonal expressions in the subjunctive, familiarize yourself with
Table 6-3
.
All the impersonal expressions you see in
Table 6-3
can go before the second part (the part after
che
) of the following sample sentence:
Ã
essenziale che lo
facciate
.
(
It's essential that you
[plural]
do it.
)
Table 6-3 Impersonal Expressions in Main Clauses
Expression | Translation |
bisogna che | it's necessary that; to have to; should |
è bene che | it's good that |
è importante che | it's important that |
è incredibile che | it's incredible that |
è inutile che | it's useless that; it's pointless that |
è male che | it's bad that |
è meglio che | it's better that |
è ora che | it's time that |
è (im)possibile che | it's (im)possible that |
è (im)probabile che | it's (im)probable that; it's (un)likely that |
è strano che | it's strange that |
pare che | it seems that |
peccato che | it's too bad that |
può darsi che | it's possible that |
sembra che | it seems that |
Handling conjunctions and words that end in -unque
Now you get to review a couple more categories of words and conditions that require the subjunctive tense! (Quite a useful tense, aye?) These areas include
conjunctions
(words connecting two different clauses) and indefinite forms ending in
-unque.
You don't use these constructions as frequently as the impersonal expressions (refer to
Table 6-3
) and the verbs and expressions in
Table 6-2
, but you should acquaint yourself with them anyway. Check out
Table 6-4
for some conjunctions and
Table 6-5
for some
-unque
words.
You attach the present subjunctive tense to the conjunctions and indefinite expressions, which will be in dependent clauses. Main clauses here should appear in the present indicative for the most part, but they can also be in the future tense (see
Chapter 5
in Book IV for details on this tense). The order of the clauses doesn't matter, provided that you keep the subjunctive with its conjunction or
-unque
word.