Italian · Chapter 10 · Lesson 8 · Grammar primer
The congiuntivo
The mood English nearly lost. Italian uses it after doubt, wish and opinion, and still notices when it goes missing.
The short version
Penso che takes the subjunctive
Spanish and French use the ordinary indicative after an affirmative I think. Italian does not: an opinion is not a fact, so penso che and credo che are followed by the subjunctive. Knowledge and certainty, so che and sono sicuro che, keep the indicative.
Penso che sia vero.
Same subject, no subjunctive
The subjunctive is for wanting or thinking something about someone else. When the subject stays the same, Italian drops che and uses an infinitive: voglio andare, not voglio che io vada. Opinion and hope add di: penso di avere ragione, spero di venire.
Voglio che tu venga.
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