Italiano — Past and pluperfect subjunctive
The compound subjunctive tenses express an action that came before the main clause. The past subjunctive (congiuntivo passato) combines abbia or sia with the past participle, as in Credo che abbia mangiato; the pluperfect (trapassato) uses avessi or fossi, as in Credevo che avesse mangiato.
How it works
Both tenses are built with the subjunctive of the auxiliary (avere or essere) plus the past participle. Choose the past subjunctive after a present-tense main verb (Penso che sia partito = I think he has left) and the pluperfect after a past-tense main verb (Pensavo che fosse partito = I thought he had left). With essere the participle agrees in gender and number: Credo che sia arrivata, Credo che siano arrivati.
Examples
| Tense | Example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Congiuntivo passato (avere) | Credo che abbia parlato | I think he/she has spoken |
| Congiuntivo passato (essere) | Credo che sia partita | I think she has left |
| Congiuntivo passato (plurale) | Spero che siano arrivati | I hope they have arrived |
| Trapassato (avere) | Credevo che avesse parlato | I thought he/she had spoken |
| Trapassato (essere) | Credevo che fosse partita | I thought she had left |
| Trapassato (ipotesi) | Se avesse studiato, avrebbe superato l'esame | If he had studied, he would have passed the exam |
Good to know
Watch the sequence of tenses (concordanza dei tempi): a present main verb pairs with the past subjunctive, while a past main verb requires the pluperfect. Saying Pensavo che sia partito instead of Pensavo che fosse partito is a very common mistake. The trapassato is also mandatory in the if-clause of past unreal conditionals, as in Se avesse studiato, avrebbe superato l'esame.