{"id":3058,"date":"2026-09-23T10:08:34","date_gmt":"2026-09-23T08:08:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sillabi.com\/?p=3058"},"modified":"2026-09-23T10:08:37","modified_gmt":"2026-09-23T08:08:37","slug":"italian-subjunctive-uses-of-the-present-and-past-congiuntivo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sillabi.com\/en\/italian-subjunctive-uses-of-the-present-and-past-congiuntivo\/","title":{"rendered":"Italian subjunctive: uses of the present and past congiuntivo"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

If you’re learning Italian, you’ve probably already come across the congiuntivo<\/strong><\/em>. This slightly intimidating mood, which Italians themselves sometimes avoid in casual speech, turns up constantly in everyday language: to express a feeling, an opinion, a doubt or a wish. As an English speaker, you might assume you can get by without it: English does have a subjunctive, but it has all but disappeared, tucked away in a handful of fixed expressions (If I were you, I suggest that he leave<\/em>). In Italian, by contrast, it’s alive and well in everyday speech, so learning it properly really is worth the effort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this article, you’ll find a clear explanation of the congiuntivo presente<\/strong><\/em> and the congiuntivo passato<\/strong><\/em>, plenty of practical examples and the pitfalls to avoid so you can use them with confidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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1. The congiuntivo: what it is and how it works<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The congiuntivo<\/em> is used mainly in subordinate clauses<\/strong> (also called dependent clauses), most often introduced by che<\/em> (“that”). It rarely states a certain fact: it usually conveys subjectivity (what we feel, think or want) or uncertainty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two tenses are on the menu in this article:<\/p>\n\n\n\n