The Italian subjunctive (congiuntivo), part 2: how to form it — the magic of swapping “A” and “E”

Last time we saw that the subjunctive is “the door to the world of the heart” (if you missed it, here is part 1). This time: how to open that door, in other words how to form the verbs. Get past this, and the subjunctive won’t scare you any more.

A quick recap (just three lines)

• Door ① = the real world (the indicative). For stating sure facts.

• Door ② = the world of the heart (the subjunctive). For wishes, opinions, feelings and doubts.

• The bridge joining the two clauses is che. The magic works when the “doer” is different in the first and in the second clause.
　Example: I hope you are well → Spero che tu stia bene. (I’m the one hoping, you’re the one who is well)
　When the “doer” is the same, you don’t use che: it becomes di + infinitive → Spero di stare bene. (I’m the one hoping and the one who is well)
　⚠️ This “different doer” rule is about verbs like think, want, hope + che. It is the most common pattern, but the subjunctive has other entrances too (benché, bisogna che, superlatives, relative clauses about things that may not exist…). We’ll look at them together in section 4.

1. The magic rule: swap A and E

Forming the subjunctive is surprisingly simple. You just swap a vowel.

• -are verbs take i: parlare → che io parli
• -ere and -ire verbs take a: prendere → che io prenda / dormire → che io dorma

In the indicative “he speaks” is parla; in the subjunctive it’s parli. In the indicative “he takes” is prende; in the subjunctive it’s prenda. A and E simply trade places. With this one line you can form every regular verb.

Look at the three lines at the bottom of the table too. The noi form is exactly the same as the indicative, for every verb (parliamo, prendiamo, dormiamo). The only new forms to learn are voi and loro.

2. The most important warning: don’t drop the subject

Look at the table again. The forms for io, tu and lui/lei are all the same: parli, parli, parli.

Italian normally drops subject pronouns, because the verb ending already tells you who is doing what. In the subjunctive, though, the forms are identical, so if you drop the pronoun nobody can really tell who you are talking about.

So with the subjunctive, always add the pronoun: che io / che tu / che lui. It is the single most important point of this lesson. When you add the pronoun, Italians understand you much more easily.

3. A shortcut for irregular verbs

You don’t need to memorise irregular verbs one by one. There’s a shortcut.

Take the “io” form of the present indicative, drop the -o and add -a. That’s all.

io vengo → che io venga / io dico → che io dica / io esco → che io esca

In other words, if you know the “io” form, you can build the subjunctive yourself. Whenever you meet a new verb, learn its “io” form first.

There are, however, just five verbs where the shortcut doesn’t work: the ones at the bottom of the table, essere → sia, avere → abbia, sapere → sappia, dare → dia, stare → stia. They are among the most common verbs of all, so learn these by heart.

4. The signal words that open “door ②”

Even when no feelings are involved, the subjunctive comes automatically after these words. Learn them as whole phrases and your mouth will start doing it without thinking.

• Bisogna che... – it is necessary that…
• È importante che... – it is important that…
• È meglio che... – it is better that…
• Benché / Sebbene / Nonostante... – although…
• Prima che... – before…
• Affinché... – so that…
• A meno che... non – unless…
• Chiunque / Qualunque / Ovunque – whoever / whatever / wherever

Here’s an escape route to put your mind at rest. You can say the same as benché with the indicative: anche se.
　Benché sia stanco, esco. (subjunctive) = Anche se sono stanco, esco. (indicative)
　Both mean “I’m tired, but I’m going out.” If you don’t feel sure about the subjunctive yet, use anche se: you’ll be perfectly understood.

And here is the most interesting thing about the subjunctive. Being tired is a sure fact, and yet after benché it goes into the subjunctive. So the subjunctive isn’t the mark of “uncertain things”: it is the mark of “what I’m not asserting right now”. What you want to tell people is “I’m going out”; being tired is a premise set to one side, and that’s why it takes the subjunctive.

To be honest, though: not everything has a reason. Both mean “although”, yet benché takes the subjunctive and anche se the indicative. It isn’t logic; it’s simply how they have been used for centuries. With things like this, don’t reason it out: learning them as fixed chunks is faster. Italians don’t know the reason either; they heard them as children and just absorbed them.

5. Three common mistakes

All three are natural slips: habits from your own language, or rules stretched too far. The good news is that just knowing them makes your Italian noticeably clearer.

1. Dropping the subject. In Spero che parli italiano. nobody can tell whether the one speaking Italian is “I”, “you” or “he”. The first three persons look the same, so you need the pronoun → Spero che tu parli italiano. (English speakers learn early on that Italian drops pronouns, and then drop them here too.)

2. Using che when the subject is the same. “I think that I’m tired”: the one thinking and the one who’s tired are both me. With the same subject you use di + infinitive → Penso di essere stanco. (It’s the classic slip for English speakers, who translate “I think that I…” word for word.)

3. Using the subjunctive for sure things. The harder people try to speak carefully, the more they make this one. “I know”, “I see”, “it’s certain” belong to the real world: they stay behind door ① → So che è vero.

★ And the most common mistake of all. Not Penso che è bello. but Penso che sia bello. To be honest, in casual conversation Italians themselves sometimes say penso che è. But in writing, or when you want to speak well, it’s sia.

※ One exception. “Same subject → infinitive” applies after verbs like think, want, hope. After conjunctions such as benché / sebbene (although), you keep the subjunctive even with the same subject.
　Example: Benché sia stanco, esco. (I’m tired, but I’m going out: I’m the one who is tired and the one going out)
　Prima che (before) works the other way round: with the same subject it becomes prima di + infinitive → Prima di partire...

6. Six patterns you can use from today

If you wait until you know all the grammar before speaking, you’ll never speak. Get the “patterns” into your mouth first, and just change the ending. Italians get through half their conversations with these six.

Penso che sia… (PEN-soh keh SEE-ah) I think it’s… → Penso che sia bellissimo. (I think it’s beautiful.)
Spero che tu stia bene. (SPEH-roh keh too STEE-ah BEH-neh) I hope you’re well → Spero che tu venga mercoledì. (I hope you’ll come on Wednesday.)
Credo che ci sia… (KREH-doh keh chee SEE-ah) I think there’s… → Credo che ci sia un errore. (I think there’s a mistake.)
È meglio che tu vada… (eh MEHL-lyoh keh too VAH-dah) you’d better go… → È meglio che tu vada a dormire. (You’d better go to bed.)
Benché sia…, … (ben-KEH SEE-ah) although it’s… → Benché sia difficile, mi piace. (It’s hard, but I like it.)
Non credo che possa… (non KREH-doh keh POS-sah) I don’t think he can… → Non credo che possa venire oggi. (I don’t think he can come today.)

7. Practice (answers below)

Put the verb in brackets into the correct form. Reading aloud helps it stick.

1. Penso che Maria ( essere ) simpatica.
2. Spero che tu ( venire ) alla festa.
3. Credo che loro ( parlare ) giapponese.
4. È meglio che voi ( dormire ) presto.
5. Benché ( fare ) freddo, esco lo stesso.
6. Non penso che lui ( potere ) venire oggi.
7. Voglio che tu ( sapere ) la verità.
8. Bisogna che noi ( andare ) subito.
9. Mi dispiace che tu ( stare ) male.
10. So che ( essere ) tardi. ← careful!

Answers 1. sia / 2. venga / 3. parlino / 4. dormiate / 5. faccia / 6. possa / 7. sappia / 8. andiamo / 9. stia / 10. è

In number 8, andiamo is the same as the indicative (remember: the noi form always is). And number 10 isn’t a subjunctive at all: “I know” (So) is a sure thing, so it stays behind door ①. If you spotted that, you already understand the subjunctive.

Summary

• -are → i, -ere and -ire → a: the vowels swap.
• The first three persons look the same, so don’t drop the pronoun.
• Irregular verbs: take the “io” form, drop -o, add -a.
• Never for sure things.

The subjunctive isn’t grammar for the sake of following rules. It’s a tool for saying “this is how I feel”. The more you use it, the more human your Italian becomes.

Next time → Part 3: the past (how to say “I think it was…”).

The rest happens in conversation

Thank you for reading this far.

Grammar doesn’t stick just by reading. Use it, get it wrong, get corrected: that’s the shortest way. But finding a place to use it is the hardest part, isn’t it?

On Yuujou we hold free online Italian conversation meetups at 9 pm Japan and Korea time (in Italy it’s lunchtime). You’ll be talking with a native Italian speaker who loves Asia.

• Even a little Italian is enough
• Mixing in some English is perfectly fine
• You’re very welcome to just listen
• It’s free, no booking needed: join late or leave early, as you like

One more thing. Here you’ll find Italians who want to hear about your world. In language-exchange apps, native English speakers are the most sought-after partners of all, and they often end up as free practice for everyone else. Here it’s the other way round: everyone wants to hear your stories. Even if your Italian isn’t good yet, there’s a seat saved for you.

See the next dates　/　Signing up is free → Join yuujou.it

Ci vediamo presto! See you soon!

Written by AI, in collaboration with Alain.