Advanced Italian - Congiuntivo Imperfetto

Weilà raga! This post correlates with my video "Advanced Italian 3 - Congiuntivo imperfetto | Imperfect Subjunctive".

The Congiuntivo Imperfetto is used very often with the Indicativo Imperfetto, which is the regular Imperfect Tense that I went over in Grammar Basics 4, and the Condizionale Presente, which is the Conditional Tense that I went over in Grammar Basics 6.

Usually with the Congiuntivo Imperfetto, when you begin your sentence with the imperfect, you finish it with the Imperfect Subjunctive.

It can be used in other ways, but just for the purpose of teaching this to you for the first time, this is the simplest way to understand it.

Let's begin with our are verb endings - and what you're going to see is that all of the verb endings are pretty much the same for all -are, -ere, and -ire verbs:

ARE verb endings:

• io - assi
• tu- assi
• lui/lei - asse
• noi - assimo
• voi - aste
• loro - assero

Mangiare - to eat

• Che io mangiassi - that I ate
• Che tu mangiassi - that you ate
• Che lui/lei mangiasse - that he/she ate
• Che noi mangiassimo - that we ate
• Che voi mangiaste - that you guys/all ate
• Che loro mangiassero - that they ate

Example: Pensavo che tu non mangiassi pesce - I thought that you didn't eat fish (Uncertainty)

ERE verb endings:

• io - essi
• tu - essi
• lui/lei - esse
• noi - essimo
• voi - este
• loro - essero

Avere - to have

• Che io avessi - that I had
• Che tu avessi - that you had
• Che lui/lei avesse - that he/she had
• Che noi avessimo - that we had
• Che voi aveste - that you guys/all had
• Che loro avessero - that they had

Example: Se avessi più soldi, comprerei una macchina - If I had more money, I'd buy a car (Hypothesizing)

Essere - to be

• Che io fossi - that I were
• Che to fossi - that you were
• Che lui/lei fosse - that he/she were
• Che noi fossimo - that we were
• Che voi foste - that you guys/all were
• Che loro fossero - that they were

Examples: 

Vorrei che tu fossi qui - I wish that you were here (Wishful thinking)

Se solo fosse così facile - If only it were that easy (Hypothesizing)

IRE verb endings:
io - issi
tu - issi
lui/lei - isse
noi - issimo
voi - iste
loro - issero

Venire - to come

• Che io venissi - thai i came
• Che tu venissi - that you came
• Che lui/lei venisse - that he/she came
• Che noi venissimo - that we came
• Che voi veniste - that you guys/all came
• Che loro venissero - that they came

Example: Speravo che veniste con me alla festa - I hoped you guys would come to the party with me (Wishful thinking)

[You could also say "Speravo che verreste con me alla festa" with the verb "venire" in the Conditional Tense if you wanted.] 

So that is it for the Advanced Italian 3! As always, just take your time with this, take notes in the way that makes the most sense to you, and watch the video a couple of times to help let things sink in!

Always remember to spread the love!

Tom