{"id":192,"date":"2009-10-16T08:00:34","date_gmt":"2009-10-16T12:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/italian\/?p=192"},"modified":"2013-04-23T09:26:12","modified_gmt":"2013-04-23T09:26:12","slug":"il-congiuntivo-part-4-%e2%80%93-imperfetto","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/italian\/il-congiuntivo-part-4-%e2%80%93-imperfetto\/","title":{"rendered":"Il Congiuntivo Part 4 \u2013 Imperfetto"},"content":{"rendered":"

Continuing my series of articles on the subjunctive form, today I\u2019m going to write about il congiuntivo imperfetto<\/strong> (imperfect subjunctive).<\/span><\/p>\n

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

for verbs ending in \u2013are<\/strong> add \u2013assi \u2013assi \u2013asse \u2013assimo \u2013aste \u2013assero<\/strong>, for example:<\/span><\/p>\n

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

Io parlassi, <\/strong>tu parlassi, <\/strong>lui parlasse, l<\/strong>ei parlasse, <\/strong>noi parlassimo, <\/strong>voi parlaste, <\/strong>loro parlassero<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

for verbs ending in \u2013ere,<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span>add \u2013essi \u2013essi \u2013esse \u2013essimo \u2013este \u2013essero<\/strong>, for example:<\/span><\/p>\n

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

Io credessi, <\/strong>tu credessi, <\/strong>lui credesse, <\/strong>lei credesse, <\/strong>noi credessimo, <\/strong>voi credeste, <\/strong>loro credessero<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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

for verbs ending in \u2013ire<\/strong>, add \u2013issi \u2013issi \u2013isse \u2013issimo \u2013iste \u2013issero<\/strong> for example:<\/span><\/p>\n

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

Io dormissi,<\/strong> tu dormissi, <\/strong>lui dormisse, <\/strong>lei dormisse, <\/strong>noi dormissimo, <\/strong>voi dormiste, <\/strong>loro dormissero<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

The main irregular verbs are:<\/span><\/p>\n

essere <\/strong>(to be): io fossi, tu fossi, lui\/lei fosse, noi fossimo, voi foste, loro fossero<\/span><\/p>\n

dare<\/strong> (to give): io dessi, tu dessi, lui\/lei desse, noi dessimo, voi deste, loro dessero<\/span><\/p>\n

dire <\/strong>(to say): io dicessi, tu dicessi, lui\/lei dicesse, noi dicessimo, voi diceste, loro dicessero<\/span><\/p>\n

fare <\/strong>(to do, to make): io facessi, tu facessi, lui\/lei facesse, noi facessimo, voi faceste, loro facessero<\/span><\/p>\n

stare <\/strong>(to stay, to be): io stessi, tu stessi, lui\/lei stesse, noi stessimo, voi steste, loro stessero<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Il congiuntivo imperfetto <\/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). Here are some examples: Giovanni voleva che lo aiutaste<\/span> a ridipingere la camera <\/strong>(Giovanni wanted you [plural] to help him repaint the bedroom); Lucia pensava\u00a0 che Maria partisse<\/span> oggi per le vacanze <\/strong>(Lucia thought that Maria was leaving today for her holidays); mi sono stupita che tu fossi<\/span> ancora l\u00ec <\/strong>(I was surprised that you were still there); avevo paura che Carlo non ce la facesse<\/span> a superare l\u2019esame <\/strong>(I was worried that Carlo wouldn\u2019t be able to pass the exam). <\/span><\/p>\n

2. <\/strong>following impersonal verbs conjugated in the past (mainly imperfetto indicativo<\/strong>, the normal imperfect tense), such as bastava che <\/strong>(it was enough\/sufficient that), bisognava che <\/strong>(it was necessary that), si diceva che <\/strong>(it was said). Here are some examples: bisognava che Carlo studiasse<\/span> di pi\u00f9 <\/strong>(it was necessary for Carlo to study more); bastava che tu mi dicessi<\/span> con che treno saresti arrivato <\/strong>(you only needed to tell me which train you would have arrived on); si diceva che questa fosse<\/span> una leggenda <\/strong>(this was said to be a legend). <\/span><\/p>\n

3. <\/strong>following impersonal constructions used in the past (mainly the \u2018imperfetto indicativo\u2019), such as era meglio <\/strong>(it was better), era un peccato <\/strong>(it was a pity), non era giusto <\/strong>(it was unfair). Here are some examples: era meglio che veniste<\/span> oggi pomeriggio <\/strong>(it was better that you [plural] came this afternoon); era un peccato che tu non potessi<\/span> venire <\/strong>(it was a pity that you weren\u2019t able to come).<\/span><\/p>\n

4. <\/strong>following the conditional form<\/span> of all the verbs and constructions listed above in 1, 2, and 3, e.g. vorrei che tu smettessi<\/span> di fumare <\/strong>(I would like you to stop smoking); bisognerebbe che Carlo studiasse<\/span> di pi\u00f9 per poter passare l\u2019esame <\/strong>(it would be necessary for Carlo to study more in order to pass the exam); non sarebbe giusto se fossi<\/span> sempre io a lavare i piatti <\/strong>(it wouldn’t be fair if it was always me that had to wash the dishes). <\/span><\/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. siamo dovuti partire prima che facesse<\/span> buio <\/strong>(we had to leave before it got dark); ti ho aiutato affinch\u00e9 tu potessi<\/span> superare l\u2019esame <\/strong>(I helped you so that you could pass the exam).<\/span><\/p>\n

6. <\/strong>following the conjunction se<\/strong> (if) when talking about an imagined situation. See my\u00a0blog <\/span><\/span>If I could have …<\/span><\/a>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Coming soon: Il Congiuntivo Trapassato <\/strong>(pluperfect subjunctive)!<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Continuing my series of articles on the subjunctive form, today I\u2019m going to write about il congiuntivo imperfetto (imperfect subjunctive). To make the congiuntivo imperfetto of regular verbs, remove the ending from the infinitive form of the verb, i.e. -are, -ere, or -ire, and add the following: for verbs ending in \u2013are add \u2013assi \u2013assi…<\/p>\n

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