if, that). Here is a table of the four tenses with the verb "parlare" ( to speak/talk):Dealing with doubts, opinions and the like: the subjunctive mood or "modo congiuntivo"
It. uses different verb forms for facts and knowledge on the one hand and for opinions, hopes, wishes, conditions, etc. on the other. The former are the ones of "modo indicativo", the latter are typical of "modo congiuntivo" (and, as we shall see, "modo condizionale").
It is called "congiuntivo" because it normally follows conjunctions - the most frequent being "se, che" ( if, that). Here is a table of the four tenses with the verb "parlare" ( to speak/talk):
|
presente |
imperfetto |
|
perfetto |
piuccheperfetto |
Examples:
"Lei desidera che io parli con suo marito." ( She wants me to talk to her husband).
"Credevano che io parlassi in portoghese." ( They thought that I was speaking Portuguese).
"Non so se la segretaria abbia parlato al direttore" ( I don't know whether the secretary has spoken to the manager).
"Speravo che gli avesse parlato ieri ( I hoped she had spoken to him yesterday).
Compare the above with these sentences with the parallel tenses in the indicative mood:
"Lei sa che io parlo con suo marito." ( She knows that I talk to her husband).
"Capivano che io parlavo in portoghese." ( They understood that I was speaking Portuguese).
"So che la segretaria ha parlato al direttore" ( I know that the secretary has spoken to the manager).
"Mi hanno detto che gli aveva parlato ieri ( They've told me she had spoken to him yesterday).
The subjunctive mood is also used in conditional sentences, that are dealt with under "modo condizionale" 