3.4.1. Present subjunctive, congiuntivo presente

Forms of the present subjunctive with regular verbs

The present subjunctive follows very clear patterns. –are verbs follow one track and –ere and

–ire verbs follow another track.

Note that the –ire verbs which insert –isc- in the present indicative also do so in the subjunctive.

Forms of the present subjunctive with irregular verbs

Spelling changes

The subjunctive has the same spelling changes we saw above for the future indicative (Section 1.6): Verbs ending in –care and –gare (for example: nevicare and pagare) add an h in front of the vowel i in the conjugation. This is true for all verb persons.

Examples:                               

Lui vuole che io cerchi dappertutto.

He wants me to look everywhere.

Lei pensa che tu paghi troppo per l’affitto.

She thinks that you pay too much for your rent.

Verbs ending in –ciare, -giare and -sciare (for example cominciare, mangiare, lasciare) will lose the a and have only an i after the stem when they are conjugated in the subjunctive form. For example, the loro form of mangiare in the subjunctive is mangino.

Examples:                               

È importante che tu cominci presto.

It’s important that you start soon.

La mamma non vuole che lascino la tavola subito.

Their mother doesn’t want them to leave the table immediately.