The subjunctive/ il congiuntivo

Pg 324

Comparativo d'uguaglianza

Comparisons of equality using adjectives and adverbs are expressed in Italian with così ... come or tanto ... quanto. In practice, così and tanto are often omitted.

Il salotto è (così) grande come The living room is as big as the lo studio. office. La cucina è (tanto) moderna The kitchen is as modern as the quanto il bagno. bathroom.Paolo guida (così) lentamente Paolo drives as slowly as his come suo fratello. brother.

Note that when the second part of a comparison contains a pronoun, a disjunctive form is used.

Il fratello di Paolo guida (tanto) lentamente quanto te.

Comparisons of equality of nouns and verbs are expressed with the pattern tanto ... quanto. When tanto modifies a noun, it agrees with the noun.

Mio fratello mangia quanto un My brother eats as much as an elefante. elephant.Ha tanta fame quanto un lupo. He is as hungry as a wolf.Mangia tante verdure quanto te. He eats as many vegetables as you do.

When the quantity of two nouns is being compared, tanto and quanto agree with the nouns.

Nel frigo ci sono tante arance There are as many oranges as quante mele, e c’è tanto apples in the refrigerator, and tè freddo quanta limonata. there is as much iced tea as lemonade.

Comparativo di maggioranza e di minoranza

Comparisons of inequality between two different subjects are formed with the patterns più ... di and meno ... di. Such comparisons may pertain to adjectives, adverbs, nouns, or pronouns. When the second part of the comparison is a pronoun, the disjunctive form is used.

La sala da pranzo è più grande The dining room is larger than del salotto. the living room.La cantina è meno fresca del The cellar is less cool than the giardino. garden.Quest’appartamento ha più This apartment has more elettrodomestici dell’altro. appliances than the other.Questa casa ha meno scale This house has fewer stairs than della mia. mine.

2. Più di and meno di are used with cardinal numbers in comparisons.

Abbiamo visto più di venti We looked at more than twenty appartamenti. apartments.L’affitto di quest’appartamento è The rent for this apartment is meno di €500 al mese. less than €500 a month.

3. Che is used instead of di when comparing two adjectives or two nouns pertaining to the same subject.

Ho più amiche che amici. I have more female friends than male friends.Studio più in biblioteca che I study more at the library than at home. a casa.

Congiuntivo presente: Verbi che esprimono desiderio, volontà e speranza

Verbs have both tense (tempo), which tells you when the action takes place relative to the present, and mood (modo), which tells you how the speaker perceives the statement. Most of the tenses you have learned so far are in the indicative mood, which is used for stating facts and certainties. Another mood in Italian is the subjunctive (il congiuntivo), which also has several tenses. English has a subjunctive mood as well, but it is used infrequently.

We would prefer that you be prompt.I wish you were here.

The subjunctive is nearly always used in a subordinate clause introduced by che. Compare the verb forms in the pairs of sentences below. The verb in the first sentence is in the indicative mood: it states a fact. The verb in the che clause of the second sentence is in the subjunctive mood.Indicativo Congiuntivo

La nostra squadra vince. Speriamo che la nostra squadra vinca.

Comprate una casa qui vicino.Preferiamo che compriate una casa quivicino.

Lei telefona all’agenzia di viaggi. Voglio che lei telefoni all’agenziadi viaggi.

The subjunctive is nearly always used in a subordinate clause introduced by che. Compare the verb forms in the pairs of sentences below. The verb in the first sentence is in the indicative mood: it states a fact. The verb in the che clause of the second sentence is in the subjunctive mood.

Certain conditions expressed in the main clause of a sentence require the subjunctive in the subordinate clause. If the main clause expresses a desire, a demand, or a hope, the subordinate clause will be in the subjunctive. Some verbs of desire or hope that require the subjunctive in a dependent clause are: La professoressa suggerisce che The professor suggests that you listen voi ascoltiate attentamente in classe. carefully in class.Vuole che tutti gli studenti capiscano She wants all her students to la lezione. understand the lesson.

The subjunctive is used only when the main clause and the subordinate clause have two different subjects. An infinitive is used if there is no change of subject.

Patrizia spera di divertirsi questo Patrizia hopes to have fun this semestre. semester.I genitori sperano che Patrizia prenda Patrizia’s parents hope that she buoni voti questo semestre. gets good grades this semester.Non voglio che tu spenda molto. I don’t want you to spend a lot.Non voglio spendere molto. I don’t want to spend a lot.

Congiuntivo presente: verbi regolari

Verbs ending in -care and -gare add h to all forms of the present subjunctive to retain the hard sound of the c or g.

Speriamo che giochino bene. Let’s hope they play well.Preferiamo che paghiate voi. We prefer that you pay.