Italian Moods: A Comprehensive Guide

In Italian, a mood refers to the verb form that indicates how an action is expressed, not merely when it occurred.

English, for instance, has four moods: indicative, imperative, subjunctive, and infinitive. Italian, however, has seven.

While this variety of moods can be viewed as a challenging aspect of Italian grammar, this guide will help you understand the appropriate context for each one.

What Are Italian Moods?

Italian moods collaborate with verb tenses to add nuance to meaning.

They indicate the manner in which the verb is employed or how the action is intended to be perceived, beyond its temporal placement.

Consequently, moods and tenses are frequently used together.

How Are Italian Moods Different From Verb Tenses?

On the surface, Italian moods appear quite similar to verb tenses. Indeed, many Italian language instructors present moods simply as an aspect of tenses.

Some native Italian speakers (like my spouse) weren't even aware there was a separate term for them in English!

Here are the primary distinctions between moods and tenses:

When vs. How

Verb tenses indicate when an action takes place in time. For example, “Lui è al cinema” means he is at the cinema at this moment. This is the presente (present) tense.

Moods, conversely, convey the speaker's attitude or level of certainty regarding what they are saying.

For instance, the congiuntivo (subjunctive) mood in “Credo che lui sia al cinema” means “I believe he is at the cinema,” but suggests the speaker isn't completely sure.

Moods let you discuss an action's relationship to reality

This might sound abstract, but simply put, moods indicate whether something is actually happening or not.

“Spero che domani vada meglio” means “I hope tomorrow is better,” but it isn't a certainty. It expresses a hope, dream, possibility, opinion, or wish using the congiuntivo.

However, if I say “Domani andrà meglio” in the indicativo (indicative) mood, I am stating with certainty that “Tomorrow will be better.”

Moods incorporate an emotional aspect

As the term “mood” suggests, moods can also mirror the speaker's feelings.

With the imperativo (imperative) mood, for example, you are issuing a command, often in an authoritative or sometimes irritated manner. E.g., “Dammi quella matita” (“Give me that pencil”).

This contrasts with the less forceful condizionale (conditional) version: “Potresti darmi quella matita, per favore?” (“Could you give me that pencil, please?”).

Moods enable you to speak hypothetically

The condizionale can also be used to express something entirely hypothetical.

It typically involves a cause-and-effect scenario, where the speaker implies “if this condition were fulfilled, then this other thing would occur.”

For example: “Se tu fossi stato qui, mi avresti aiutato” (“If you had been here, you would have helped me”).

The 7 Italian Moods And How to Distinguish Them

There are seven Italian moods in total, categorized into two groups: finite and indefinite.

Modi finiti (finite moods) are moods where the verb form specifies who is performing the action. They are conjugated according to the person and number. There are four finite moods, each encompassing one or more verb tenses.

Modi indefiniti (indefinite moods), on the other hand, lack a defined subject and therefore do not indicate who is performing the action.

Let's examine both types more closely to clarify this distinction.

The Finite Moods

1. indicativo (indicative)

The indicativo is the most frequently used mood.

It describes events that occur in reality and can be applied with nearly all present, past, and future tenses.

Here are some example conjugations for three regular present tense verbs, representing the primary verb groups (-are, -ere, and -ire):

examples:

Parlano italiano a casa. — They speak Italian at home.

Leggo un libro ogni mese. — I read a book every month.

La domenica, dormiamo fino a tardi. — On Sundays, we sleep late.

The indicativo mood can also be used in the following tenses:

• Imperfetto (imperfect)
• Passato prossimo (present perfect)
• Passato remoto (remote past)
• Trapassato prossimo (past perfect)
• Trapassato remoto (preterite perfect)
• Futuro semplice (simple future)
• Futuro anteriore (future perfect)

Since these are standard tenses and function in conventional ways, we won't detail them here, but you can refer to our complete guide to Italian verb tenses for a refresher.

2. imperativo (imperative)

Imperativo means imperative, indicating that the speaker is giving a command. This mood is used only in the present tense.

It typically corresponds to the tu, lui/lei, noi, and voi forms because the speaker is directing someone else to do something.

The loro form is very rarely used nowadays.

Examples:

Parla! — (You) Speak!

Leggete quel libro! — (You all) Read that book!

Dormiamo adesso! — Let's go to sleep now!

The pronoun is seldom used here as it's generally understood from context.

There's a specific structure used for telling someone not to do something. The infinitive form of the verb is used instead of a conjugation:

Non parlare così! — Don't talk that way!

3. congiuntivo (subjunctive)

The congiuntivo or subjunctive mood is used to express opinions, hopes, dreams, wishes, probabilities, or possibilities.

This mood has four different conjugation sets based on when the action occurred.

Here's a breakdown of each:

congiuntivo presente (subjunctive present tense)

The congiuntivo presente relates to hopes, beliefs, wishes, etc., happening in the present moment.

The conjugations for present-tense singular subjects (I, you, he/she/it) share the same ending, so the pronoun is often used before the verb for clarity.

Often, the presence of "che" (that) in a sentence signals the need for the congiuntivo.

Examples:

Credo che tu parli bene l’italiano. — I think that you speak Italian well.

È meglio che io legga questo libro in fretta. — It’s best that I read this book quickly.

Pensi che lei non dorma abbastanza? — Do you think that she doesn’t sleep enough?

congiuntivo passato (subjunctive past, a.k.a. subjunctive present perfect tense)

You also need to learn the passato prossimo or present perfect tense of verbs in the congiuntivo.

Fortunately, you only need to master the auxiliary verb forms of avere and essere in the subjunctive.

Then you proceed with the past participle as you would in the standard indicative past tense.

This form is often used in sentences with another verb like sperare (to hope), credere (to believe), or pensare (to think), which are usually in the present tense.

Examples:

Spero che vi abbiano parlato delle nuove regole. — I hope they talked to you about the new rules.

Credi che io abbia letto quel libro? — Do you believe I’ve read that book?

Non penso che abbiano dormito stanotte. — I don’t think they slept last night.

For verbs that require essere as an auxiliary verb, use the following conjugations for the first part of the construction:

sia sia sia siamo siate siano

Penso che lui sia andato al supermercato. — I think he went to the supermarket.

congiuntivo imperfetto (subjunctive imperfect tense)

Lastly, we have the subjunctive form of the imperfect tense.

This is used when discussing an ongoing wish or hope that occurred in the past or in a conditional situation.

The hallmark of this tense is the abundance of "s" letters, making it relatively easy to identify.

Speravo che tu parlassi di píu. — I was hoping that you would speak more.

Pensavo che lui leggesse tanti libri, ma non gli piacciono. — I thought he would read a lot of books, but he doesn’t like them.

Lana credeva che i bambini dormissero. — Lana believed the kids were sleeping.

congiuntivo trapassato (subjunctive past perfect tense)

The trapassato (past perfect) tense is for potential actions that would theoretically have been completed before another completed action.

It is formed by using the subjunctive imperfect form of the auxiliary verb avere or essere and adding the past participle of the main verb.

With the congiuntivo trapassato form, the other verb in the sentence is usually in the imperfect or another past tense.

Examples:

Speravo che ne avessero parlato prima dello spettacolo. — I hoped they had spoken about it before the play.

Pensavo che Anna avesse letto questo libro. — I thought that Anna had read this book.

Temeva che i bambini avessero dormito troppo poco. — She feared the kids hadn’t slept enough.

If the verb requires essere, use the following as the auxiliary verb forms:

fossi fossi fosse fossimo foste fossero

Credevo che Andy fosse partito quella mattina. — I thought Andy had left that morning.

4. condizionale (conditional)

The condizionale mood, as the name suggests, is conditional. It's used to discuss hypothetical situations that would only happen if another condition were met.

This mood has only a present tense and a past tense form.

condizionale presente (conditional present)

The present tense form of the conditional mood expresses something that could happen now if another condition were fulfilled.

It's formed by taking the verb's infinitive, dropping the final -e, and adding a new ending. Note: –are verbs change to –ere in this mood.

Examples:

Parlerebbe di più se tu smettessi di parlare. — She would talk more if you stopped talking.

Leggeresti il mio libro se te lo prestassi? — Would you read my book if I lent it to you?

Dormiremmo meglio se spegnessimo la luce. — We would sleep better if we turned off the light.

Typically, verbs in sentences using this mood are both in the conditional tense, as they are both hypothetical.

condizionale passato (conditional past or conditional present perfect)

Condizionale passato is essentially the conditional form of passato prossimo.

It expresses a hypothetical or impossible situation that would have occurred in the past if something else had made it possible.

It is formed by using the conditional form of the auxiliary verb avere or essere plus the past participle of the main verb.

Examples:

Avrei parlato con lei se fosse stata qui. — I would have spoken to her if she had been here.

Avrebbe letto l’articolo se fosse stato scritto in inglese. — She would have read the article if it had been written in English.

Se non fosse stato così tardi, avremmo dormito di più. — If it had not been so late, we would have slept longer.

If the verb requires essere, use these forms as the auxiliary:

sarei saresti sarebbe saremmo sareste sarebbero

Sarei andata se me lo avesse chiesto. — I would have gone if he had asked me to.

The Indefinite Moods

5. infinito (infinitive)

The infinitive is the base form of the verb, the one listed in dictionaries.

It is also used in specific sentence structures, particularly with piacere or modal verbs.

Examples:

Sono felice di parlare con te. — I am happy to speak with you.

Non mi piace leggere. — I don’t like to read.

Non posso dormire troppo tardi. — I can’t sleep too late.

6. participio (participle)

There are two participle forms in Italian: the present participle and the past participle.

The participio presente or present participle is used to convert the verb into a noun, adjective, or adverb.

Most present participles are formed by replacing the final -are with -ante or -ere/-ire with –ente (some -ire verbs take -iente).

There are exceptions, so it's advisable to research and memorize the irregular ones.

Examples:

Scooby Doo è un cane parlante. — Scooby Doo is a talking dog.

Il Vesuvio è un vulcano dormiente molto pericoloso. — Vesuvius is a very dangerous sleeping volcano.

"Leggente" is a verb that has fallen out of common use, so I won't create a sentence with it, but you understand the concept!

The past participle, however, is used to form other verb tenses.

You might recognize it as part of the past tense, but it is also used in several other tenses (and moods!).

Typically, -are becomes -ato, -ere becomes -uto, and -ire becomes –ito.

These verbs are always used with the appropriate auxiliary verb.

Examples:

Ho parlato con lei ieri. — I spoke to her yesterday.

Hai letto il giornale oggi? — Did you read the newspaper today?

Non ho dormito per tre giorni. — I didn’t sleep for three days.

Leggere is an irregular verb in this form, but other regular -ere verbs like credere become creduto.

Again, the best approach for learning exceptions is to memorize them, as there isn't a simple rule.

7. gerundio (gerund)

In Italian, the gerund is used to form continuous tenses. It corresponds to English words ending in -ing.

Verbs ending in -are replace the ending with –ando, and -ere and -ire verbs replace their endings with –endo.

An auxiliary verb in the present or infinitive form is usually required to form a complete thought.

Examples:

Sto parlando con mia madre. — I am talking to my mother.

Stavo leggendo un libro quando sei arrivato. — I was reading a book when you arrived.

Il gatto sta dormendo sul letto. — The cat is sleeping on the bed.

Note that the auxiliary verb most commonly used with gerunds is stare, not essere.

Stare also means "to be," but it conveys a condition rather than a state of being.

That was a substantial amount of information, but I hope it hasn't dampened your spirits! Once you master these seven Italian moods, you'll be able to express yourself appropriately regardless of your sentiment.

A good method to observe these moods in context is by using a language learning platform like Lingflix.