Chapter 14

Chapter 14 - Expressing Uncertainty - Giving Orders

In the Italian language, when the primary idea of a sentence is an expression of uncertainty, denial, impersonal condition, a request or a command to do something, any secondary idea will require a special verb form. Here are some examples.
            It is possible that it will rain today.
This sentence has two parts. First, there is an expression of uncertainty (“It is possible..”). Then, there is a secondary idea, namely that it might rain.
            I doubt that John will arrive on time.
There are two parts to the sentence. First there is an expression of doubt, which is the primary idea. Then, there is the secondary idea, namely what is doubted.
            The court ordered that he pay the fine.
Again, we have two ideas. First, that a court issued an order, and second what the order was.
            In case of fire, break the glass.
This statement refers to a command to do something when a certain condition exists.
            I hope that our team will win this game.
This sentence is a statement of personal desire.
            The law requires that each person pay taxes.
This sentence describes an impersonal condition, namely a legal requirement.

In English, we depend on several methods to express these ideas, but in Italian, a special verb is required in the second part of such a sentence.
This special verb is called the subjunctive, and is required more often in Italian than in English.
The English translation might take one of several forms, but, generally, the present or future tense will be used.

Here are some examples of its use.
I hope that John arrives on time.	Io spero che Giovanni arrivi in punto.
It is necessary that you study.	Bisogna che voi studiate.
The law requires that you pay taxes.	La lẹgge richiede che tu paghi imposte
In case of fire, break the glass.	In caso di fuoco, rompa il vetro.
It is possible that they will win the game.	Ẹ possibile che loro vịncano la partita.
We hope they know the address.	Noi speriamo che loro sappiano l’indirizzo.
She wants you to make dinner.	Lei vuò che tu prepari il pranzo.

Giving orders

These same verb forms are used to give orders, and are referred to as formal commands. Some examples follow.

Please, order the wine.	Per favore, ordini il vino.
Turn left at the bridge.	Vada a sinistra al ponte.
Do it right away.	Lo faccia sụbito.

Group 1 verbs end in -are, example: mandare, to send.
The verb forms are made by replacing the endings of the io form of the present tense with the endings -i, -i, -i, -iamo, -iate, -ino

I	io	mand + i	mandi (mAHn-dee)
you	tu	mand + i	mandi (mAHn-dee)
he, she, who	lei, lui, chi	mand + i	mandi (mAHn-dee)
we	noi	mand + iamo	mandiamo (mahn-dyAH-moh)
you	voi	mand + iate	mandiate (mahn-dyAH-tay)
they, who	loro, who	mạnd + ino	mạndino (mAHn-dee-noh)

Because of the fact that the present tense is used as the basis for verb formation, any irregularities in that tense will also appear in these forms.

In group 1, the following verbs are irregular in the present subjunctive tense
accecare, to blind: acciẹchi, acciẹchi, acciẹchi, accechiamo, accechiate, acciẹchino
andare, to go: vada, vada, vada, andiamo, andiate, vạdano
Like andare: riandare, to go back
arenare, to run aground: arẹni, arẹni, arẹni, areniamo, areniate, arẹnino
avviare, to set in motion: avvìi, avvìi, avvìi, avviamo, avviate, avvìino
dare, to give: dịa, dịa, dịa, diamo, diate, dịano
esaminare, to examine: esạmini, esạmini, esạmini, esaminiamo, esaminiate, esạminino
These verbs are irregular because, although the infinitives are pronounced regularly, the accent is changed in the stem (esamin-) from the last vowel to the second to last vowel. Using esaminare as an example, the infinitive is pronounced ay-zah-mee-nAH-ray. Thus, under the regular rule, the io form would be pronounced ay-zah-mEE-nee, but it is actually pronounced ay-zAH-mee-nee. There are too many of these verbs to be listed here. Please consult the appendix.

*fare*, to do, make: **faccia**, **faccia, faccia,** **facciamo, facciate,** **fạcciano**
Like fare:	assuefare, to accustom, inure	contraffare, to counterfeit	disassuefare, to give up a habit
disfare, to undo	liquefare, to liquify	putrefare, to putrify
rarefare, to rarefy	rifare, to do over, repeat	sfare, to undo, to thaw, melt
soddisfare, to satisfy	soprafare, to overwhelm	strafare, to do too much, overdo
stupefare, to stupefy	torrefare, to roast	tumefare, to swell

ridare, to give back: ridịa, ridịa, ridịa, ridiamo, ridiate, ridịano
ristare, to stop, desist: ristịa, ristịa, ristịa, ristiamo, ristiate, ristịano
sonare, to sound, to play: suǫni, suǫni, suǫni, soniamo, soniate,suǫnino
Like sonare: dissonare, to be dissonant risonare, to resound, to play again
rotare, to rotate tonare, to thunder
stare, to stand: stịa, stịa, stịa, stiamo, stiate, stịano

Group 2 verbs end in -ere or -rre, examples: presụmere, to presume. The verb forms are made by replacing the endings of the ioform of the present tense with the endings -a, -a, -a, -iamo, -iate, -ano.

I	io	presum + a	presuma (pray-zOO-mah)
you	tu	presum + a	presuma (pray-zOO-mah)
he, she, who	lei, lui chi	presum + a	presuma (pray-zOO-mah)
we	noi	presum + iamo	presumiamo (pray-zoo-myAH-moh)
you	voi	presum + iate	presumiate (pray-zoo-myAH-tay)
they, who	loro, chi	presụm + ano	presụmano (pray-zOO-mah-noh)

Because of the fact that the present tense is used as the basis for verb formation, any irregularities in that tense will also appear in these forms.

In group 2, the following verbs are irregular in the present subjunctive tense

*addurre*, to adduce: **adduca, adduca, adduca, adduciamo, adduciate, addùcano**
Like addure:	condurre, to conduct, to lead	dedurre, to deduce
indurre, to induce	introdurre, to introduce	produrre, to produce
reintrodurre, to reintroduce	ricondurre, to bring back	ridurre, to reduce
riprodurre, to reproduce	sedurre, to seduce	tradurre, to translate

*astrarre,*to abstract: **astragga, astragga, astragga,** astraiamo, astraiate, astrạggano
Like astrarre:	attrarre, to attract	contrarre, to contract
decontrarre, to relax	detrarre, to detract	distrarre, to distract
estrarre, to extract	protrarre, to protract	ricontrarre, to contract again
ritrarre, to retract	sottrarre, to subtract	trarre, to pull, draw toward

avere, to have: ạbbia, ạbbia, ạbbia, abbiamo, abbiate, ạbbiano

*cǫgliere*, to gather: **colga, colga, colga**, cogliamo, cogliate, **cǫlgano**
Like cǫgliere:	accǫgliere, to welcome	devǫlvere, to assign
disciǫgliere, to dissolve	distǫgliere, to withdraw	equivalere, to be equivalent
invalere, to catch on, become fashionable		prevalere, to be prevalent, to prevail
riaccǫgliere, to readmit someone	ritǫgliere, to take away again	scẹgliere, to choose
sciǫgliere, to untie, to loosen	tǫgliere, to take away	valere, to be worth

conoscere, to know: conọsca, conọsca, conọsca, conosciamo, conosciate, conọscano
                Like conoscere:                                    disconoscere, to disclaim                   riconoscere, to recognize
crẹscere, to grow: crẹsca, crẹsca, crẹsca, cresciamo, cresciate, crẹscano
                [These verbs are irregular because the soft sc of the stem is hard in four of six forms.]
                Like crescere:                                      nạscere, to be born                              ricrẹscere, to regrow
                rinạscere, to be reborn                       rincrẹscere, to regret
cuǫcere, to cook: cuocia, cuocia, cuocia, cociamo, cociate, cuǫciano
                Like cuǫcere:                                      ricuǫcere, to recook                            scuǫcere, to overcook
divẹllere, to uproot: divelga, divelga, divelga, divelliamo, divelliate, divẹlgano
                Like divẹllere:                                     eccẹllere, to excel                                espẹllere, to expel
                repẹllere, to repel                               svẹllere, to tear out
dolere, to suffer, ache: dǫlga, dǫlga, dǫlga, dogliamo, doliate, dǫlgano
dovere, to be obliged to: deva, deva, deva, dobbiamo, dobbiate, dẹvano

*emẹrgere*, to emerge: **emerga, emerga, emerga,** emergiamo, emergiate, **emẹrgano**
Like emẹrgere:	accǫrgere, to perceive	aggiụngere, to add
aspẹrgere, to sprinkle	attịngere, to attain	cịngere, to surround
congiụngere, to join, unite	cospạrgere, to scatter, sprinkle	costrịngere, to compel
convẹrgere, to converge	dipịngere, to depict	dirịgere, to direct
disgiụngere, to disjoin, separate	disụngere, to degrease	divẹrgere, to diverge
emụlgere, to soften	ẹrgere, to raise, lift up	erịgere, to erect
espụngere, to expunge	esịgere, to demand	fịngere, to feign, pretend
frạngere, to break	fụngere, to act as someone	giụngere, to join
immẹrgere, to immerge	indụlgere, to indulge	ingiụngere, to enjoin, to order
interpụngere, to punctuate	mụngere, to milk	neglịgere, to neglect
piạngere, to cry, weep	pịngere, to paint	pǫrgere, to hand something to someone
predilịgere, to be fond of s.t.	pụngere, to prick, sting	raggiụngere, to catch up, up to, up with
redịgere, to draw up, draft	ricongiụngere, to reconnect	riemẹrgere, to re-emerge
rifrạngere, to refract	rifụlgere, to shine	rimpiạngere, to regret
rinvǫlgere, to rewrap	ripịngere, to repaint	ritịngere, to redye
risǫrgere, to rise again	risospịngere, to push again	scǫrgere, to make out, distinguish
sconvǫlgere, to upset	smụngere, to bleed, milk, squeeze	soggiụngere, to add
sommẹrgere, to submerge	sopragiụngere, to appear suddenly	sǫrgere, to rise, get up
spạrgere, to scatter, strew	spịngere, to push, shove	spǫrgere, to stick out, protrude
stịngere, to fade, lose color	strịngere, to clasp, hold tightly	svǫlgere, to unwind
tẹrgere, to wipe clean, away	tịngere, to dye, tint	vǫlgere, to wrap
ụngere, to oil, lubricate

ęssere, to be: sịa, sịa, sịa, siamo, siate, sịano
                Like essere:                                                                           riessere, to be again
giacere, to lie down: giaccia, giaccia, giaccia, giacciamo, giacciate, giạcciano
                Like giacere:                                       dispiacere, to displease                     piacere, to please
                scompiacere, to be unkind                 soggiacere, to be subject to              spiacere, to be sorry, to regret
                tacere, to be silent

[These verbs are irregular because the soft gg of the infinitive is hard in four of the six forms.]
*lęggere*, to read: **legga, legga, legga,** leggiamo, leggiate, **lẹggano**
Like lęggere:	affịggere, to affix	afflịggere, to afflict
corrẹggere, to correct	distrụggere, to destroy	elęggere, to elect
figgere, to fix, stick	frịggere, to fry	infịggere, to drive, thrust
inflịggere, to inflict	prefịggere, to arrange in advance	protẹggere, to protect
rẹggere, to hold	rielęggere, to re-elect	rifrịggere, to refry
rilęggere, to read again	sconfịggere, to defeat, vanquish	strụggere, to melt, thaw
trafịggere, to transfigure

muǫvere, to move: muova, muova, muova, moviamo, moviate, muǫvano
                Like muovere:                                      commuǫvere, to move emotionally perscuǫtere, to strike
                promuǫvere, to promote                    rimuǫvere, to remove                         riscuǫtere, to collect or draw a salary
                scuǫtere, to shake                              smuǫvere, to budge                            sommuǫvere, to incite, stir up
nuǫcere, to harm: noccia, noccia, noccia, nociamo, nociate, nǫcciano
parere, to seem: paia, paia, paia, pariamo, pariate, pạiano

*pọrre*, to put, place: **pọnga, pọnga, pọnga, poniamo, poniate**, **pọngano**
Like pọrre:	antepọrre, to place or put before	appọrre, to append
compọrre, to compose	contrappọrre, to contrast	contropropọrre, to counterpropose
decompọrre, to decompose	depọrre, to put, set, lay down	dispọrre, to dispose
espọrre, to expose	fotocompọrre, to photocompose	frappọrre, to interpose
giustappọrre, to juxtapose	impọrre, to impose	indispọrre, to irritate; to annoy
interpọrre, to interpose	oppọrre, to oppose	pospọrre, to postpone
predispọrre, to predispose	prepọrre, to place before	presuppọrre, to presuppose
propọrre, to propose	ricompọrre, to recompose	ridispọrre, to rearrange
riespọrre, to expound again	ripọrre, to replace	ripropọrre, to repropose
scompọrre, to take apart, dismantle	sottoespọrre, to underexpose	sottopọrre, to place underneath
sovraespọrre, to overexpose	sovrappọrre, to superimpose	sovrimpọrre, to overlay
suppọrre, to suppose	traspọrre, to transpose

potere, to be able, can: possa, possa, possa, possiamo, possiate, pǫssano
riavere, to have again, recover: riạbbia, riạbbia, riạbbia, riabbiamo, riabbiate, riạbbiano
rimanere, to remain: rimanga, rimanga, rimanga, rimaniamo, rimaniate, rimạngano
sapere, to know: sappia, sappia , sappia, sappiamo, sapiate, sạppiano
sedere, to sit: siẹda, siẹda, siẹda, sediamo, sediate, siẹdano
Like sedere: possedere, to possess risedere, to reseat, to sit down again
solere, to be in the habit of: soglia, soglia, soglia, sogliamo, sogliate, sǫgliano
Like solere: volere, to want
spẹgnere, to extinguish: spenga, spenga, spenga,, spegniamo, spegniate, spẹngano

*tenere*, to hold: **tenga, tenga, tenga**, teniamo, teniate, **tẹngano**
Like tenere:	appartenere, to belong to	contenere, to contain
detenere, to detain	mantenere, to maintain	ottenere, to obtain
ritenere, to retain	sostenere, to sustain	trattenere, to restrain

tǫrcere, to twist: torca, torca, torca, torciamo, torciate, tǫrcano

Like tenere:	appartenere, to belong to	contenere, to contain
detenere, to detain	mantenere, to maintain	ottenere, to obtain
ritenere, to retain	sostenere, to sustain	trattenere, to restrain

trarre, to draw: tragga, tragga, tragga, traiamo, traiate, trạggano

Like trarre:	attrarre, to attract	astrarre, to abstract
contrarre, to contract	detrarre, to detract	distrarre, to distract
estrarre, to extract	protrarre, to protract	ritrarre, to retract
sottrarre, to subtract

vịncere, to win: vinca, vinca, vinca, vinciamo, vinciate, vịncano
                Like vincere:                                         avvịncere, to charm                            convịncere, to convince
                convịncersi, to convince oneself      evincere, to be evident                       stravincere, to win overwhelmingly, trounce
volere, to want: voglia, voglia, voglia, vogliamo, vogliate, vǫgliano
                Like volere:                                           benvolere, to like someone               disvolere, to stop liking someone
                malvolere, to dislike someone           rivolere, to want someone or something back

Group3 verbs end in -ire. example: finire, to finish. The verb forms are made by replacing the endings of the ioform of the present tense with the endings -a, -a, -a, -iamo, -iate, -ano.

I	io	finisc + a	finisca (fee-nEE-scah)
you	tu	finisc + a	finisca (fee-nEE-scah)
he, she, who	lei, lui, chi	finisc + a	finisca (fee-nEE-scah)
we	noi	fin + iamo	finiamo (feen-yAH-moh)
you	voi	fin + iate	finiate (feen-yAH-tay)
they, who	loro, chi	finịsc + ano	finịscano (fee-nEEs-cah-noh)

Because of the fact that the present tense is used as the basis for verb formation, any irregularities in that tense will appear in these forms.

In group 3, the following verbs are irregular in the present subjunctive tense

*aprire*, to open: **apra, apra, apra**, apriamo, apriate, **ạprano**
Like aprire:	assentire, to assent	avvertire, to advise, inform
bollire, to boil	conseguire, to obtain	consentire, to consent
convertire, to convert	coprire, to cover	discoprire, to discover
disinvestire, to disinvest	dissentire, to dissent	divertire, to amuse
dormire, to sleep	offrire, to offer	eseguire, to execute
inseguire, to chase after	invertire, to invert	investire, to invest
partire, to start	pentire, to repent	perseguire, to pursue
pervertire, to pervert	preavvertire, to forewarn	presentire, to present
proseguire, to prosecute	reinvestire, to reinvest	riaprire, to reopen
riavvertire, to advise again	ribollire, to reboil	riconvertire, to reconvert
ricoprire, to cover again	riscoprire, to rediscover	rieseguire, to execute again
risentire, to hear again	rivestire, to dress again	sbollire, to cool off
scoprire, to discover, uncover	seguire, to follow	sentire, to feel
servire, to serve	sobbollire, to simmer	soffrire, to suffer
sortire, to go out	sovvertire, to subvert	susseguire, to follow, succeed
svestire, to undress	vestire, to dress	vestirsi, to dress oneself

cucire, to sew: cucia, cucia, cucia, cuciamo, cuciate, cùciano
Like cucire: ricucire, to sew again scucire, to unravel

*dire*, to say: **dica, dica, dica, diciamo, diciate,** **dịcano**
Like dire:	benedire, to bless	contraddire, to contradict
disdire, to retract	interdire, to interdict, prohibit	maledire, to curse
predire, to predict	ridire, to repeat	ribenedire, to bless again

empire, to fill, fill up, fill in: empia, empia, empia, empiamo, empiate, empịrano
                Like empire:                                                         riempire, to refill
fuggire, to flee, to escape: fugga, fugga, fugga, fuggiamo, fuggiate, fụggano
                [These verbs are irregular because the soft gg of the infinitive is hard in four of the six forms.]
                Like fuggire:                                                         muggire, to moo                                  rifuggire, to flee, escape again
                ruggire, to roar, bellow                                       sfuggire, to shun, avoid
morire, to die: muoia, muoia, muoia, moriamo, moriate, muǫiono
                Like morire:        premorire, to die before, predecease
salire, to go forth, go up, climb: salga, salga, salga, saliamo, saliate, sạlgano
                Like salire:         assalire, to assault                              risalire, to go up again
udire, to hear: oda, oda oda, udiamo, udiate, ǫdano
                Like udire:         riudire, to hear again
uscire, to go out: esca, esca, esca, usciamo, usciate, ẹscano
                Like uscire:         fuoriuscire, to come out, leak           riuscire, to go out again

*venire*, to come; **venga, venga, venga,** veniamo, veniate, **v?ngano**
Like venire:	addivenire, to come to	avvenire, to happen
circonvenire, to circumvent	contravenire, to contravene	convenire, to convene
divenire, to become	intervenire, to intervene	pervenire, to reach
prevenire, to prevent	riconvenire, to reconvene	ridivenire, to become again
rinvenire, to rediscover, recover	risoveniresi, to recollect	rivenire, to come back
sconvenire, to be unbecoming	sovvenire, to help	svenire, to faint