When learning Italian, students are taught that verbs expressing desires, wishes, worries, doubts, opinions, and beliefs are followed by the subjunctive.

If this is the case, then why do we say “spero di finire questo lavoro entro stasera” (“I hope to finish this job by this evening” infinitive) instead of “spero che io finisca questo lavoro entro stasera”? (subjunctive). Let’s have a look at the difference between these two constructions and find out how we know which one to use.

“stiamo pensando ____ a Tellaro domenica prossima” Serena vicino a Tellaro. Photo by Geoff

Costruzione con l’infinito:

we use the infinitive when we wish, hope, expect, etc., to do something ourselves, e.g.:

speriamo di avere una bella giornata domani = let’s hope we have a nice day tomorrow
mi aspetto di passare l’esame = I expect to pass the exam
pensavamo di essere già arrivati = we thought we had already arrived
Maria teme di arrivare in ritardo per la festa = Maria is afraid that she’ll arrive late for the party
per un attimo ho creduto di aver perso il portamonete = for a moment I believed I’d lost my purse
i miei genitori hanno voluto fare l’università = my parents wanted to go to university
ci piacerebbe restare a cena ma non possiamo = we would like to stay for dinner but we can’t

Costruzione col congiuntivo:

we use the subjunctive when we wish, hope, expect, etc. for somebody else to do something, e.g.:

speriamo che domani sia una bella giornata = let’s hope that tomorrow will be a nice day
mi aspetto che tu passi l’esame = I expect you to pass the exam
pensavamo che Lucia fosse già arrivata = we thought that Lucia had already arrived
Maria teme che i fiori arrivino in ritardo per la festa = Maria is afraid that the flowers will arrive late for the party
per un attimo ho creduto che mi avessero rubato il portamonete = for a moment I believed that they’d stolen my purse
i miei genitori hanno voluto che facessi l’università = my parents wanted me to go to university
ci piacerebbe che tu restassi a cena = we would like you to stay for dinner

Exercise:
now it’s your turn:

we are worried that Carlo will miss the train
abbiamo paura ____ il treno

I’m surprised that you haven’t arrived yet
mi stupisco ____ ancora arrivato

we were worried that we had missed the train
avevamo paura ____ il treno

Giulio would like us to help him
Giulio vorrebbe ____

we are thinking of going to Tellaro next Sunday
stiamo pensando ____ a Tellaro domenica prossima

Answers: