The Italian subjunctive (congiuntivo) has four tenses, and the tricky part is not the conjugation: it is choosing which of the four to pair with the main clause. An English speaker who learned “penso che + presente” and left it there will sooner or later say Pensavo che Mario torni and get a raised eyebrow from every Italian in the room. That mismatch is what the consecutio temporum del congiuntivo fixes.
This guide walks through the four Italian subjunctive tenses (presente, passato, imperfetto, trapassato), the three windows of time they encode (before, during, after), and the four kinds of main clause they have to match (present, past, conditional, future). At the end there is a real-sounding dialog, a mini challenge, a quiz and six FAQs. Level B2. Practical, not theoretical.
Why the subjunctive has four tenses and Italian keeps all of them
English collapsed its subjunctive centuries ago, while the full set of Italian subjunctive tenses stayed alive. What remains is ceremonial: If I were you, I suggest he go. Italian never collapsed it. Every trigger verb (penso, voglio, dubito, temo, suppongo) still opens a subordinate clause where the speaker is expected to mark time with precision.
The Italian subjunctive tenses split along two axes: when the embedded action happens relative to the main clause (before, during, or after) and whether the main clause itself is in the present zone or the past zone. That is all the system is. Once the axes click, the rest is mechanical.
🔍 One rule that simplifies everything. If the main verb is in the present or future zone, the subordinate subjunctive will be presente or passato. If the main verb is in the past or conditional zone, the subordinate subjunctive will be imperfetto or trapassato. That single split covers about 90 percent of the cases you will ever produce.
Before we align tenses: what the four subjunctive tenses look like
A quick look at the Italian subjunctive tenses in practice, using tornare (to come back) and io. The four tenses, left to right in time:
| Tense | Form | Example in English |
|---|---|---|
| Presente | che io torni | that I come back |
| Passato | che io sia tornato | that I have come back / came back |
| Imperfetto | che io tornassi | that I came back / was coming back |
| Trapassato | che io fossi tornato | that I had come back |
Among the Italian subjunctive tenses, the presente and imperfetto express an action that is simultaneous with the main clause. The passato and trapassato express an action that happened before the main clause. Which pair you use depends on whether the main clause is in the present zone or the past zone. That is the real choice.
🔍 Morphology warning. The imperfetto congiuntivo endings (tornassi, tornassi, tornasse, tornassimo, tornaste, tornassero) are close to the passato remoto of some verbs. Tornasse (subjunctive) vs tornò (passato remoto). Different animals. In writing, this is the single most common subjunctive error among anglophones.
Main clause in the present: penso che, voglio che, dubito che
This is the first zone for Italian subjunctive tenses. Main verb in the presente, passato prossimo with present relevance, or futuro. The subordinate subjunctive uses presente for simultaneity/posteriority and passato for anteriority.
- Simultaneous or future. Penso che Mario torni stasera. (I think Mario is coming back tonight.)
- Anterior. Penso che Mario sia tornato ieri. (I think Mario came back yesterday.)
- Ongoing right now. Penso che Mario stia tornando. (I think Mario is coming back right now.) The progressive form with stare + gerundio is standard in the spoken register.
The present-zone pairing is the one every textbook starts from, because it mirrors the English template: “I think that + clause”. The only surprise for anglophones is that Italian needs a marked form (torni, sia tornato) where English uses the bare indicative (comes, came).
Typical triggers for this zone: penso che, credo che, suppongo che, dubito che, spero che, voglio che, preferisco che, mi piace che, è bene che, è strano che, sembra che, pare che, basta che, purché, a condizione che.
Main clause in the past: pensavo che, ho pensato che, avevo pensato che
This is the second zone where Italian subjunctive tenses reshuffle. Main verb in the imperfetto, passato prossimo without present relevance, passato remoto, or trapassato prossimo. The subordinate subjunctive uses imperfetto for simultaneity/posteriority and trapassato for anteriority.
- Simultaneous. Pensavo che Mario tornasse a casa. (I thought Mario was coming back home.)
- Anterior. Pensavo che Mario fosse tornato a casa. (I thought Mario had come back home.)
- Posterior. Pensavo che Mario sarebbe tornato a casa. (I thought Mario would come back home.) This is the “future in the past” and uses the condizionale passato, not a subjunctive form.
- Ongoing in the past. Pensavo che Mario stesse tornando. (I thought Mario was on his way back.)
Anglophones often try to reuse the present forms in this zone because English keeps the tense low-profile in reported speech: “I thought Mario comes back” sounds wrong in English too, but learners still produce Pensavo che Mario torni. The imperfetto subjunctive (tornasse) is non-negotiable here.
🔍 The posterior slot is not a subjunctive. “Mario said he would come back tomorrow” becomes Mario ha detto che sarebbe tornato il giorno dopo. The condizionale passato fills the role of “future in the past” even when the main clause triggers the subjunctive in other positions. This is the single biggest gap in most B1 textbooks.
Main clause in the conditional: vorrei che, avrei voluto che
The third zone for Italian subjunctive tenses is the trickiest for anglophones. A conditional in the main clause (vorrei, avrei voluto, mi piacerebbe, preferirei) pulls the subjunctive into the past-zone pair: imperfetto or trapassato, never presente.
- Present conditional. Vorrei che Mario venisse con me. (I would like Mario to come with me.)
- Past conditional. Avrei voluto che Mario venisse con me. (I would have liked Mario to come with me.)
- Past conditional, anterior. Avrei voluto che Mario fosse venuto prima. (I would have liked Mario to have come earlier.)
The logic: vorrei is grammatically a conditional but pragmatically a softened wish about something not yet real. Italian treats “not yet real” as the same zone as “no longer present”, and reaches for the imperfetto subjunctive.
🔍 Why vorrei locks the past zone. Vorrei is morphologically a conditional, but pragmatically it names a wish about something not yet real. Italian treats “not yet real” the same way it treats “no longer present”, and both trigger the imperfetto or trapassato subjunctive. The same logic extends to avrei voluto, mi piacerebbe and preferirei.
Main clause in the future: penserò che (rare but real)
Main clause in the futuro semplice or futuro anteriore belongs to the present zone as far as Italian subjunctive tenses and their agreement go. You will hear it less often because Italians tend to replace “Penserò che…” with Penserò a… or a present-tense paraphrase, but when the subjunctive is required it still comes in presente or passato.
- Penserò che Mario torni stasera. (I will think that Mario is coming back tonight.)
- Penserò che Mario sia tornato ieri. (I will think that Mario came back yesterday.)
Formal writing is where this pattern actually lives: journalism, essays, official speeches. In conversation the futuro main clause with subjunctive is rare enough that knowing it exists is often all you need at B2.
The “past with one foot in the present” exception
Among Italian subjunctive tenses, a past-zone main clause (passato prossimo) can sometimes take the present-zone subjunctive if the effect of the action still holds in the present moment.
- Non abbiamo capito perché Luigi si sia arrabbiato. (We did not understand why Luigi got angry.) We still do not understand, now.
- Contrast: Non capivamo perché Luigi si fosse arrabbiato. (We did not understand why Luigi had got angry.) Both clauses locked in the past, the present is irrelevant.
This is where the schema cracks a little. The rule: if you can add e ancora non lo capiamo (and we still do not understand) to the sentence without changing the meaning, the present-zone subjunctive is legitimate. Otherwise go back to the imperfetto or trapassato.
Common mistakes English speakers make
A short list of the Italian subjunctive tenses errors that show up most often in writing and speech, with the corrected form.
- Imperfetto indicativo instead of imperfetto congiuntivo. ❌ Pensavo che Mario tornava. ✅ Pensavo che Mario tornasse.
- Presente congiuntivo after vorrei. ❌ Vorrei che Mario venga. ✅ Vorrei che Mario venisse.
- Same-subject che-clause instead of di + infinito. ❌ Mario pensa che lui sia in ritardo. ✅ Mario pensa di essere in ritardo. Use the che-clause only when you want to mark the subject emphatically.
- Sia tornato vs fosse tornato. Anchor to the main verb. Penso che… sia tornato. Pensavo che… fosse tornato.
- Forgetting the condizionale passato for future-in-the-past. ❌ Mario ha detto che torni il giorno dopo. ✅ Mario ha detto che sarebbe tornato il giorno dopo.
- Avrei voluto che + presente. ❌ Avrei voluto che tu venga. ✅ Avrei voluto che tu venissi (or fossi venuto if you want anterior).
Dialog: Beatrice and Leo in Bologna, recalling the missed flight
- 👩🏻🦱 Beatrice: Credevo che il volo partisse alle undici.
I thought the flight was leaving at eleven. - 👨🏽 Leo: Anch’io. Pensavo che avessero spostato l’orario per il maltempo, invece no.
Me too. I thought they had moved the time because of the bad weather, but no. - 👩🏻🦱 Beatrice: Avrei voluto che qualcuno ci avvisasse. Non è normale non ricevere niente.
I would have liked someone to warn us. It is not normal to get nothing. - 👨🏽 Leo: Temevo che fosse colpa nostra, che avessimo letto male il biglietto.
I was afraid it was our fault, that we had read the ticket wrong. - 👩🏻🦱 Beatrice: Mi sarebbe piaciuto che l’aeroporto fosse più organizzato, almeno con un annuncio.
I would have liked the airport to be more organised, at least with an announcement. - 👨🏽 Leo: Pensa, credevo che stessero scherzando quando hanno detto “ritardo di otto ore”.
Just think, I thought they were joking when they said “eight-hour delay”. - 👩🏻🦱 Beatrice: Non ho ancora capito perché non ci abbiano rimborsato il taxi.
I still have not understood why they have not reimbursed the taxi. - 👨🏽 Leo: Spero che la prossima volta vada meglio.
I hope next time it goes better.
Count the Italian subjunctive tenses in the dialog: imperfetto (partisse, avvisasse, fosse, stessero scherzando), trapassato (avessero spostato, avessimo letto, abbiano rimborsato), presente (vada). Eight turns, five of the seven paradigm combinations represented.
📌 Cheat sheet: which subjunctive tense goes with which main clause
- Main verb in presente / futuro → subordinate in congiuntivo presente (during/after) or passato (before).
- Main verb in imperfetto / passato prossimo / passato remoto / trapassato → subordinate in congiuntivo imperfetto (during) or trapassato (before).
- Main verb in condizionale (presente or passato) → subordinate in congiuntivo imperfetto (default) or trapassato (anterior).
- Posterior action in a past-zone main clause → condizionale passato, not a subjunctive.
- Progressive forms stia/stesse + gerundio are standard for ongoing action.
- Same subject in both clauses → di + infinito, not che-clause.
🎯 Mini challenge: Italian subjunctive tenses
Fill in the blank with the correct subjunctive tense:
- Penso che Marta __________ (tornare) ieri sera.
- Pensavo che voi __________ (arrivare) prima di noi.
- Vorrei che tu mi __________ (chiamare) quando arrivi.
- Avrei voluto che la riunione __________ (finire) prima delle otto.
- Non ho ancora capito perché loro __________ (decidere) di partire così presto.
- Credevo che in quel momento Luca __________ (stare) dormendo.
Show answers
- sia tornata
- foste arrivati
- chiami (or chiamassi, if the context is past)
- finisse (or fosse finita, anterior)
- abbiano deciso (the effect still holds, present-zone subjunctive)
- stesse
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FAQ: Italian subjunctive tenses
How many tenses does the Italian subjunctive have?
The Italian subjunctive has four tenses: presente (che io torni), passato (che io sia tornato), imperfetto (che io tornassi) and trapassato (che io fossi tornato). Each pairs with a specific main-clause zone.
Which subjunctive tense do I use after penso che?
Use the presente for a simultaneous or future action (Penso che Mario torni stasera) and the passato for an anterior action (Penso che Mario sia tornato ieri). The progressive stia + gerundio covers ongoing action.
Which subjunctive tense do I use after pensavo che?
Use the imperfetto for simultaneity (Pensavo che Mario tornasse) and the trapassato for anteriority (Pensavo che Mario fosse tornato). For posteriority use the condizionale passato (Pensavo che Mario sarebbe tornato), not a subjunctive.
Why does vorrei che venga sound wrong to Italians?
A conditional in the main clause pulls the subjunctive into the past zone, so the default is imperfetto. Vorrei che venisse is correct. A small group of cognitive verbs (immaginare, supporre) tolerate the presente, but vorrei is not one of them.
When do I use sia tornato vs fosse tornato?
Sia tornato is the passato congiuntivo and pairs with a present-zone main clause (Penso che sia tornato). Fosse tornato is the trapassato and pairs with a past-zone main clause (Pensavo che fosse tornato). Anchor to the main verb to choose.
Can the main clause be in the future with the subjunctive?
Yes but it is rare. The futuro main clause behaves like the present zone, so the subordinate takes the presente or passato congiuntivo. In daily speech Italians tend to rephrase with a present-tense paraphrase.
Do Italian relative clauses use the subjunctive, and how do I match tenses with the antecedent?
Yes, when the antecedent is hypothetical, indefinite, negative, or inside a superlative. Cerco qualcuno che sappia il tedesco (present antecedent, presente congiuntivo). Cercavo qualcuno che sapesse il tedesco (past antecedent, imperfetto congiuntivo). Non c’e nessuno che possa farlo and E la cosa piu bella che io abbia mai visto follow the same logic: match the subjunctive tense to the main verb’s time zone.
If you want to see how the subjunctive plays with subordinate conjunctions, start from our Italian subordinating conjunctions hub, then read the deep dives on concessive clauses and pleonastic non. The canonical Treccani entries on consecutio temporum and congiuntivo are the reference works behind this guide.
Non pensavo che io potessi capire ed imparare il modo congiuntivo così buono. Questo è un riassunto ottimo. Grazie mille!!!
Prego.
Ps. Mi piace questo ritratto molto.
Questo articolo mi ha aiutato molto. Quando si può vedere le scelte, diventa più facile. Grazie Riccardo. Potremmo parlare di questo alla prossima lezione?
Certo. A dopo!