Italian present subjunctive: penso che sia, spero che venga

The congiuntivo presente, or present subjunctive, is a verb mood used mainly in clauses introduced by «che». The indicative states things as facts; the subjunctive presents them through someone’s mind, as an opinion, a wish, a fear, a doubt or a judgement. «Marco ha ragione» is a statement; «Penso che Marco abbia ragione» is your opinion about it.

English rarely marks this difference, so you have to learn to spot the triggers: verbs and expressions such as «penso che», «spero che», «voglio che», «ho paura che» and «è importante che». It is the trigger in the main clause that decides the mood of the verb after «che».

Regular forms: -i for -are verbs, -a for -ere and -ire

Start from the io form of the present indicative and remove the -o: «parlo» gives «parl-», «prendo» gives «prend-», «dormo» gives «dorm-». Verbs in -are take -i in the singular («che io parli»); verbs in -ere and -ire take -a («che io prenda», «che io dorma»). The noi form is the same as in the indicative («parliamo»), voi ends in -iate, and loro in -ino or -ano.

Verbs with -isc- keep it where the indicative has it: «capisca», «finiscano», but «capiamo», «capiate». Verbs in -care and -gare add h: «cerchi», «paghi». Because the three singular forms are identical, add a subject pronoun when the meaning is unclear: «Penso che tu abbia ragione», «Spero che lei venga».

Starting from the io form also gives you many irregular verbs: «faccio» gives «faccia», «vado» gives «vada», «vengo» gives «venga», «dico» gives «dica», «esco» gives «esca», «bevo» gives «beva». These verbs change only in the singular and in loro; noi and voi stay regular: «andiamo, andiate», «veniamo, veniate».

Irregular verbs to learn by heart

A few very frequent verbs have forms you simply need to memorise. Learn the singular, the noi form and the loro form. Voi is always built from noi by replacing -iamo with -iate: «siamo», «siate»; «facciamo», «facciate».

When to use it: the main triggers

The subjunctive appears in a che-clause after verbs and expressions that present its content as subjective or uncertain. The main groups are opinion and belief, wish and will, emotion, doubt, and impersonal expressions of necessity, possibility and judgement.

It is needed only when the two clauses have different subjects. When the subject is the same, Italian uses an infinitive instead: «Penso di avere ragione» “I think I’m right”, rather than «Penso che io abbia ragione»; «Voglio partire» “I want to leave”, but «Voglio che tu parta» “I want you to leave”. After penso, credo, spero or sono contento the infinitive takes «di»; after voglio and preferisco it follows directly.

Some conjunctions also require the subjunctive, for example «prima che», «sebbene» and «affinché». They are covered with complex connectors.

When the indicative stays: facts, certainty and secondo me

Not every opinion needs the subjunctive. Without a che-clause there is no trigger: «Secondo me è vero», «Per me ha ragione Luca». Expressions of knowledge and certainty, such as «so che», «sono sicuro che», «è chiaro che» and «è vero che», present a fact and take the indicative: «So che è difficile». Verbs of saying simply report: «Dice che arriva domani».

After verbs of opinion and hope, a clearly future event is often expressed with the future indicative: «Penso che domani pioverà», «Spero che verrai». This is correct standard Italian, alongside «Spero che tu venga».

In relaxed speech many Italians also use the indicative after «penso che» («Penso che è vero»). You will hear it, but in writing and careful speech the subjunctive is expected, so it is the form to learn. For an action that is already complete, use the past subjunctive: «Penso che sia già partito».