{"id":188,"date":"2009-10-01T11:58:02","date_gmt":"2009-10-01T15:58:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/italian\/?p=188"},"modified":"2017-04-06T11:12:46","modified_gmt":"2017-04-06T09:12:46","slug":"il-congiuntivo-part-1-presente","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/italian\/il-congiuntivo-part-1-presente\/","title":{"rendered":"Il Congiuntivo Part 1 – Presente"},"content":{"rendered":"
Several\u00a0readers have asked me to explain how and when to use the congiuntivo <\/strong>(subjunctive), a verb form which is not used very much in English\u00a0but is quite common in Italian.\u00a0This is quite a big topic, so in order to make it more \u2018digestible\u2019\u00a0I have decided to divide\u00a0it into\u00a0several \u201cchapters\u201d.\u00a0Let\u2019s\u00a0begin\u00a0with the Congiuntivo Presente<\/strong> (present subjunctive).\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n

The Congiuntivo Presente <\/strong>is normally used\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

1.<\/strong> with verbs which express wishes, thoughts, beliefs, worries, and doubts, e.g.: volere<\/strong> (to want), sperare<\/strong> (to hope), pensare<\/strong> (to think), credere<\/strong> (to believe), temere<\/strong> (to be afraid), dubitare<\/strong> (to doubt), when\u00a0these verbs are followed by the conjunction che<\/strong> (that).<\/em> Here are some examples:\u00a0Giovanni vuole che lo aiutiate<\/span> a ridipingere la camera<\/strong> (Giovanni wants you [plural]\u00a0to\u00a0help him repaint the bedroom); speriamo che domani non piova<\/span><\/strong> (let\u2019s hope that tomorrow it won\u2019t rain); Lucia pensa<\/span> che Maria parta<\/span> oggi per le vacanze <\/strong>(Lucia thinks that Maria is leaving today for her holidays); mi stupisco che tu sia<\/span> ancora qui <\/strong>(I\u2019m surprised that you are still here); ho paura che Carlo non ce la faccia<\/span> a superare l\u2019esame <\/strong>(I\u2019m worried that Carlo won\u2019t be able to pass the exam).<\/span><\/p>\n

2. <\/strong>to give polite orders<\/span> when using the lei<\/strong> form, e.g. Parli<\/span> pi\u00f9 lentamente, per piacere <\/strong>(speak more slowly, please); Cliente: <\/em>Mi scusi<\/span>!<\/strong> Cameriere: <\/em>Mi dica<\/span><\/strong> Cliente: <\/em>Un cappuccino, per piacere <\/strong>(Customer: <\/em>Excuse me! Waiter:<\/em> yes sir [literally: tell me]. Customer: <\/em>A cappuccino, please).<\/span><\/p>\n

3. <\/strong>after impersonal\u00a0verbs<\/span> followed by the conjunction che<\/strong>,\u00a0such as bisogna che <\/strong>(it\u2019s necessary that), basta che <\/strong>(it\u2019s enough\/sufficient that), si dice che <\/strong>(it is said that), e.g. bisogna che Carlo studi<\/span> di pi\u00f9 <\/strong>(lit. it\u2019s necessary that Carlo studies more, or: it\u2019s necessary for Carlo to study more); basta che tu mi dica<\/span> con che treno arriverai <\/strong>(it\u2019s sufficient that you tell me which train you\u2019ll arrive with, or more simply: just tell me which train you\u2019re arriving on); si dice che questa sia<\/span> una leggenda <\/strong>(this is said to be a legend).<\/span><\/p>\n

4. <\/strong>after impersonal constructions<\/span>\u00a0such as \u00e8 facile \/ difficile che <\/strong>(it\u2019s likely \/ unlikely that), \u00e8 meglio che <\/strong>(it\u2019s better that), \u00e8 un peccato che <\/strong>(it\u2019s a pity that), non \u00e8 giusto che <\/strong>(it\u2019s unfair that), e.g. \u00c8 un peccato che tu non possa<\/span> venire <\/strong>(it\u2019s a pity that you can\u2019t come); non \u00e8 giusto che sia<\/span> sempre io a lavare i piatti <\/strong>(it\u2019s unfair that it\u2019s always me that has\u00a0to wash the dishes); \u00e8 meglio che veniate<\/span> oggi pomeriggio <\/strong>(it\u2019s better that you [plural]\u00a0come this afternoon).<\/span><\/p>\n

5. <\/strong>following conjunctions built with che<\/strong>, such as prima che <\/strong>(before), affinch\u00e9 <\/strong>(so that, in order that), a meno che <\/strong>(unless), nel caso che <\/strong>(in case), e.g. dobbiamo partire prima che faccia<\/span> buio <\/strong>(we must leave before it gets\u00a0dark); ti aiuto affinch\u00e9 tu possa<\/span> superare l\u2019esame <\/strong>(I\u2019m helping you so that you can pass the exam).<\/span><\/p>\n

To make the congiuntivo presente<\/strong> of regular verbs, remove the <\/span>ending from the infinitive form of the verb,<\/span>\u00a0i.e. -are<\/strong>, -ere<\/strong>, or\u00a0-ire<\/strong>,\u00a0and add the following: <\/span><\/p>\n

for verbs ending in\u00a0\u2013are<\/strong> add\u00a0\u2013i\u00a0\u2013i\u00a0\u2013i\u00a0\u2013iamo\u00a0\u2013iate\u00a0\u2013ino<\/strong>, for example:<\/span><\/p>\n

Parlare <\/strong>(to speak):<\/span><\/p>\n

Io parli, <\/strong>tu parli, <\/strong>lui parli, l<\/strong>ei parli, <\/strong>noi parliamo, <\/strong>voi parliate, <\/strong>loro parlino<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

for verbs ending in\u00a0\u2013ere,<\/strong> and\u00a0\u2013ire<\/strong> add\u00a0\u2013a\u00a0\u2013a\u00a0\u2013a\u00a0\u2013iamo\u00a0\u2013iate\u00a0\u2013ano<\/strong>, for example:<\/span><\/p>\n

Credere <\/strong>(to believe):<\/span><\/p>\n

Io creda, <\/strong>tu creda, <\/strong>lui creda, <\/strong>lei creda, <\/strong>noi crediamo, <\/strong>voi crediate, <\/strong>loro credano<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Dormire <\/strong>(to sleep):<\/span><\/p>\n

Io dorma,<\/strong> tu dorma, <\/strong>lui dorma, <\/strong>lei dorma, <\/strong>noi dormiamo, <\/strong>voi dormiate, <\/strong>loro dormano<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Verbs ending\u00a0in \u2013ire<\/strong> which use the suffix \u2013isco<\/strong> in the normal present tense (presente indicativo<\/strong>),\u00a0follow the same rule\u00a0in the present subjunctive, e.g. <\/span><\/p>\n

Capire <\/strong>(to understand):<\/span><\/p>\n

Io capisca, tu capisca, <\/strong>lui capisca, lei capisca, <\/strong>noi capiamo, voi capiate, <\/strong>loro capiscano<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

As you can see from the above examples the singular forms of the congiuntivo presente,\u00a0io, tu, lui, lei<\/strong>, all use the same ending, therefore in order to avoid confusion we tend to\u00a0use the appropriate personal pronoun , e.g. Penso che tu<\/span> sia ammalato <\/strong>(I think that you<\/span> are ill).<\/span><\/p>\n

However, beware that many common verbs, such as essere<\/strong> (to be)\u00a0and avere<\/strong> (to have)\u00a0are irregular! Therefore in part 2 of this article\u00a0I\u2019ll give you a list of the most useful irregular verbs conjugated\u00a0in the present subjunctive.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Several\u00a0readers have asked me to explain how and when to use the congiuntivo (subjunctive), a verb form which is not used very much in English\u00a0but is quite common in Italian.\u00a0This is quite a big topic, so in order to make it more \u2018digestible\u2019\u00a0I have decided to divide\u00a0it into\u00a0several \u201cchapters\u201d.\u00a0Let\u2019s\u00a0begin\u00a0with the Congiuntivo Presente (present subjunctive).\u00a0 The…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[713],"class_list":["post-188","post","type-post","status-publish","hentry","category-grammar","tag-il-congiuntivo-presente"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t