The Italian Imperfect Subjunctive

Learn how to conjugate and use the congiuntivo imperfetto

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As we have discussed elsewhere in relation to the grammar of the present subjunctive mood, contrary to the indicativo, which is the verb mode of reality, the congiuntivo is the mode of wish, thought, dream, hope, possibility or impossibility, uncertainty, and wishful thinking.

It is a conjugation demanded by a particular set of verbs—such as credere (to believe), pensare (to think), volere (to want or wish), immaginare (to imagine), supporre (to suppose), temere (to fear), suggerire (to suggest), sperare (to hope), desiderare (to wish), and insistere (to insist)—and particular phrasal constructions, which we will review below.

What Does the Congiuntivo Imperfetto Express

In the realm of the congiuntivo, if the presente congiuntivo is used to express contemporaneity of wish with an action in the present—spero che tu venga oggi (I hope that you come today)—the imperfetto congiuntivo is used to convey contemporaneity of wish with a principal action in the past or in a conditional setting:

  • Speravo che tu venissi. I hoped that you would come.
  • Vorrei che tu venissi con noi. I wish that you would come with us.
  • Ti vedrei oggi se tu venissi. I would see you today if you came.

The congiuntivo imperfetto is the "you would come" part; it is used with the principal verb—the wishing or hoping or dreading—in very specific tenses: the indicativo passato prossimo or imperfetto, or the condizionale presente. Please remember that the use of the congiuntivo in Italian does not translate always or even often to the English subjunctive, so as you pay attention to the translations, note the tenses in English as well.

How to Conjugate and Use the Congiuntivo Imperfetto

The congiuntivo imperfetto is a simple conjugation (not composed) made with the root of the indicativo imperfetto. You will remember it for all of its s's: -assi, -essi, -issi.

  Cantare Sapere Finire
che io cantassi sapessi finissi
che tu cantassi sapessi finissi
che lui/lei/Lei cantasse sapesse finisse
che noi cantassimo sapessimo finissimo
che voi cantaste sapeste finiste
che loro/Loro cantassero sapessero finissero

Let's take a look at some sentences with cantare, sapere, and finire in the imperfetto congiuntivo using the possible tense matches. Note that, since the conjugation for the first and second person singular is identical, sometimes it behooves to use the subject pronoun for the sake of clarity.

Main Verb in the Passato Prossimo With the Congiuntivo Imperfetto

  • Ho sperato fino all'ultimo che tu cantassi una canzone. I hoped to the last minute that you would sing a song.
  • Il babbo ha voluto che Luigi sapesse quanto gli voleva bene, quindi gli ha lasciato una lettera. Dad wanted Luigi to know how much he loved him, so he left him a letter.
  • I professori hanno voluto che finissimo di studiare prima di uscire, quindi siamo rimasti. The teachers wanted us to finish studying before going out, so we stayed.

Main Verb in the Imperfetto With the Congiuntivo Imperfetto

  • Volevo che cantassi una canzone. I wanted you to sing a song.
  • Il babbo sperava che Luigi sapesse quanto gli voleva bene. Dad hoped that Luigi knew how much he loved him.
  • I professori volevano che finissimo di studiare prima di uscire, ma ce ne siamo andati. The teachers wanted us to finish studying before going out, but we left.

Main Verb in the Condizionale Presente With the Congiuntivo Imperfetto

  • Vorrei che tu cantassi una canzone. I wish that you would sing a song.
  • Il babbo vorrebbe che Luigi sapesse quanto gli vuole bene, ma non glielo può dire adesso. Dad would like for Luigi to know how much he loves him, but he can't tell him now.
  • I professori vorrebbero che finissimo di studiare prima di uscire, ma non ci possono costringere. The teachers would like for us to finish studying before going out, but they cannot force us.

With Se and Conditional

Of course, instead of che, the conditional is often used with se. There are several ways of building a sentence with se. For example: Mangerei la torta se fosse pronta, or, Se la torta fosse pronta, la mangerei. I would eat the cake if it were ready; if the cake were ready, I would eat it.

  • Se tu le parlassi, capirebbe. If you talked with her, she would understand.
  • Sarei felice se tu venissi in Italia. I would be happy if you came to Italy.
  • Se fossi in te, andrei a casa. If I were you, I would go home.
  • Mi piacerebbe se tu mi aiutassi. I would like it if you helped me.
  • Verrei se tu ci fossi. I would come if you were there.
  • Se mi aiutassero completerei il lavoro. If they helped me, I would finish the work.

The condizionale presente and passato are also used in constructions with the congiuntivo trapassato, or the past perfect subjunctive.

Congiuntivo Imperfetto of Irregular Verbs

Verbs that have an irregular imperfetto indicativo generally have an irregular imperfetto congiuntivo (but not alway: see stare below). You add the congiuntivo endings to the root, as you do in making the imperfetto indicativo. But some have their own very irregular conjugations without pattern. Here are a few: essere (to be), avere (to have), stare (to stay, live), dire (to say), and fare (to do):

Essere
Che io  fossi Dubitavi che fossi a casa?  Did you doubt I was home? 
Che tu fossi Io pensavo che tu fossi a scuola.  I thought you were at school. 
Che lui/lei/Lei fosse  Speravo che tu fossi contento.  I hope that you were happy. 
Che noi fossimo Giulia pensava che noi fossimo in America.  Giulia thought we were in America.
Che voi foste Vorrei che voi foste felici.  I wish that you were happy. 
Che loro/Loro fossero Le mamme vorrebbero che i figli fossero sempre felici.  Moms wish for their children to always be happy. 
Avere
Che io avessi La mamma vorrebbe che io avessi un cane da guardia. Mom wishes I had a watch dog. 
Che tu avessi La mamma credeva che tu avessi le chiavi.  Mom thought you had the keys. 
Che lui/lei/Lei avesse Mi piacerebbe se il museo avesse un orario più flessibile.  I would like it if the museum had a more flexible schedule. 
Che noi avessimo Carla temeva che non avessimo lavoro.  Carla feared that we didn't have work. 
Che voi aveste Pensavo che voi aveste un buon lavoro.  I thought that you had a good job. 
Che loro/Loro avessero Vorrei che i bambini avessero più tempo fuori dalla scuola.  I wish the children had more time outside of school. 
Stare
Che io  stessi Lucio sperava che stessi a Roma fino a primavera.  Lucio hoped that I would be in Rome till spring. 
Che tu stessi Volevo che tu stessi con me stanotte. I wanted you to stay with me tonight.
Che lui/lei/Lei stesse Luisa vorrebbe che suo marito stesse a casa di più. Luisa wishes her husband would stay home more. 
Che noi stessimo Alla mamma piacerebbe se stessimo più vicini.  Mom would like it if we lived closer. 
Che voi steste Credevo che voi steste bene.  I thought you were well. 
Che loro/Loro stessero Temevo che stessero male.  I feared they were sick. 
Dire
Che io dicessi Mi aiuterebbe se gli dicessi di cosa ho bisogno.  He would help me if I told him what I need. 
Che tu dicessi Vorrei che tu dicessi la verità. I wish that you would tell the truth. 
Che lui/lei/Lei dicesse Non mi piaceva che non mi dicesse mai la verità. I didn't like it that he would never tell me the truth.
Che noi dicessimo Vorrebbe che noi gli dicessimo la verità. He wishes that we would tell him the truth. 
Che voi diceste Vi aspetterei se mi diceste a che ora arrivate.  I would wait for you if you told me at what time you're arriving. 
Che loro/Loro dicessero Andremmo a trovarli se ci dicessero dove sono.  We would go visit them if they told us where they are. 

Other Constructions with the Congiuntivo

The imperfetto congiuntivo, like other tenses in the congiuntivo, is often used with the following constructs with che (note that the constructs, if they involve a verb, must still be in the appropriate tenses called for by the congiuntivo imperfetto):

Affinché (in order to):

  • Dovevamo vederci affinché potessimo parlare. We needed to see each other in order for us to talk.

Era necessario che (it was necessary/not necessary that):

  • Non era necessario che tu venissi qui. It was not necessary that you come here.
  • Sarebbe necessario che veniste in questura. It would be necessary for you to come to the police station.

Era probabile/improbabile che (it was likely/unlikely that):

  • Non era probabile che piovesse oggi, ma domani sì. It was not likely that it would rain today, but tomorrow, yes.
  • Era improbabile che lui capisse. It was unlikely that he would understand.

Era possibile che (it was/was not possible that):

  • Non era possibile che portassimo il cane con noi. It was not possible for us to bring the dog.

Era folle/assurdo pensare che (it was crazy/absurd to think that):

  • Era folle pensare che ci rivedessimo. It was crazy to think that we would see each other again.

Poteva darsi che (it was possible that):

  • Poteva anche darsi che si ricordasse di portare il pane. It was possible that he would remember to bring the bread.

Bastava che, bisognava che (it would have sufficed/it was necessary that):

  • Bastava che tu glielo dicessi, ti avrebbe creduto. It would have sufficed for you to tell him; he would have believed you.
  • Bisognava che lo sapessimo. It was necessary for us to know/we needed to know.

Era certo che (it was/was not certain that):

  • Non era certo che venisse. It was not certain that he would show up.

Avevo l'impressione che (I had the impression that): 

  • Avevo l'impressione che non ti piacesse il cioccolato. I was under the impression you didn't like chocolate.

Sebbene/malgrado/nonostante che (though/even though/in spite of):

  • Nonostante che non si vedessero da otto anni, ancora si amavano. Though they had not seen each other in eight years, they still loved each other.

Ovunque, qualunque (wherever, whichever):

  • Qualunque cosa il bambino facesse, lei lo rimproverava. Whatever the child did, she would scold him.

And magari (if only):

  • Magari piovesse! If only it would rain!
  • Magari potessi andare in Italia! If only I could go to Italy!
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Filippo, Michael San. "The Italian Imperfect Subjunctive." ThoughtCo, Apr. 5, 2023, thoughtco.com/italian-imperfect-subjunctive-tense-2011699. Filippo, Michael San. (2023, April 5). The Italian Imperfect Subjunctive. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/italian-imperfect-subjunctive-tense-2011699 Filippo, Michael San. "The Italian Imperfect Subjunctive." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/italian-imperfect-subjunctive-tense-2011699 (accessed March 19, 2024).