Table of Contents
“If I were rich, I would buy a house by the sea.” Every language needs a way to dream, and in this lesson we learn the Italian way. It requires two ingredients: the conditional mood, which you already know, and one new verb form, the congiuntivo imperfetto (past subjunctive).
Congiuntivo imperfetto: the forms
Take the infinitive, drop -RE, and add: -ssi, -ssi, -sse, -ssimo, -ste, -ssero.
| Parlare | Prendere | Partire | |
| (che) io | parlassi | prendessi | partissi |
| (che) tu | parlassi | prendessi | partissi |
| (che) lui / lei | parlasse | prendesse | partisse |
| (che) noi | parlassimo | prendessimo | partissimo |
| (che) voi | parlaste | prendeste | partiste |
| (che) loro | parlassero | prendessero | partissero |
Very few verbs are irregular here. The essential ones:
essere: fossi, fossi, fosse, fossimo, foste, fossero
fare: facessi… (the old stem fac- again)
bere: bevessi… / dire: dicessi… (same story)
dare: dessi… / stare: stessi…
Use 1: hypothetical sentences (periodo ipotetico)
Here is the formula for dreaming in Italian:
SE + congiuntivo imperfetto, + conditional
Se fossi ricco, comprerei una casa al mare – If I were rich, I would buy a house by the sea
Se avessi tempo, viaggerei di più – If I had time, I would travel more
Se tu studiassi, passeresti l’esame – If you studied, you would pass the exam
Cosa faresti se vincessi un milione? – What would you do if you won a million?
Compare it with the realistic “if” from the future tense lesson: “Se studierai, imparerai” (If you study, you will learn) talks about something that can really happen. The version with congiuntivo + conditional talks about imaginary situations. English makes the same difference: “if you study” vs “if you studied”.
Use 2: after past opinions and wishes
Remember “Penso che sia…”? When the main verb moves to the past, the congiuntivo moves with it: presente becomes imperfetto.
Penso che Marco sia felice – I think Marco is happy
Pensavo che Marco fosse felice – I thought Marco was happy
Voglio che tu venga – I want you to come
Volevo che tu venissi – I wanted you to come
Use 3: wishes with MAGARI
Italians use the congiuntivo imperfetto to sigh about things they wish were true. The word MAGARI (if only) is the classic trigger:
Magari fosse vero! – If only it were true!
Magari avessi vent’anni! – If only I were twenty!
Examples
Se potessi, ti aiuterei – If I could, I would help you
Se non piovesse, andremmo in bicicletta – If it weren’t raining, we would go by bike
Sarebbe bello se veniste anche voi – It would be nice if you came too
Non sapevo che parlassi italiano così bene! – I didn’t know you spoke Italian so well!
Credevo che il negozio fosse aperto – I thought the shop was open
Se avessimo una macchina, faremmo un viaggio in Toscana – If we had a car, we would take a trip to Tuscany
Vorrei che i miei amici abitassero più vicino – I wish my friends lived closer
Vocabulary
| se – if
magari – if only, maybe ricco / ricca – rich povero / povera – poor felice – happy |
vincere – to win
passare (un esame) – to pass (an exam) bicicletta – bicycle viaggio – trip vicino – close, nearby |
Exercises
Build the hypothetical sentence: congiuntivo imperfetto + conditional
- Se io ______________ ricco, non ______________ (ESSERE / LAVORARE) – If I were rich, I wouldn’t work
- Se tu ______________ meno caffè, ______________ meglio (BERE / DORMIRE) – If you drank less coffee, you would sleep better
- Se noi ______________ una casa più grande, ______________ un cane (AVERE / PRENDERE) – If we had a bigger house, we would get a dog
- Se ______________ bel tempo, ______________ al mare (FARE / noi, ANDARE) – If the weather were nice, we would go to the seaside
- Cosa ______________ voi se ______________ la lotteria? (FARE / VINCERE) – What would you do if you won the lottery?
Move the sentence to the past
- Penso che lui abbia ragione → Pensavo che lui ______________ ragione
- Voglio che voi restiate → Volevo che voi ______________
- Spero che tu stia bene → Speravo che tu ______________ bene
Answers:
Exercise 1 – 1: fossi, lavorerei; 2: bevessi, dormiresti; 3: avessimo, prenderemmo; 4: facesse, andremmo; 5: fareste, vinceste
Exercise 2 – 1: avesse; 2: restaste; 3: stessi