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Opinion and doubt verbs that call for the subjunctive

When you express a fact in Italian, you use the indicative mood. However, when you express an opinion, a doubt, a hope, or a desire, you enter the realm of subjectivity. In Italian, this subjectivity requires a special verb form in the second part of the sentence called the subjunctive mood.

English speakers often trip over this rule because English usually sticks to the normal indicative in these cases. For example, we say "I think that he is here." In Italian, verbs like pensare, sperare, and dubitare call for the subjunctive. When followed by the word che (that), they force the next verb into the subjunctive.

Word list
aspettareA1 to wait aspetto che + subjunctive avere bisognoA1 to need ho bisogno che + subjunctive credereA1 to think credo che + subjunctive pensareA1 to think penso che + subjunctive piacereA1 to be pleasing to mi piace che + subjunctive volereA1 to want voglio che + subjunctive augurareA2 to wish ti auguro che + subjunctive avere pauraA2 to fear ho paura che + subjunctive credereA2 to believe credo che + subjunctive importareA2 to matter non importa che + subjunctive lasciareA2 to let lascia che + subjunctive odiareA2 to hate odio che + subjunctive permettereA2 to let permetto che + subjunctive preferireA2 to prefer preferisco che + subjunctive preoccuparsiA2 to worry mi preoccupo che + subjunctive servireA2 to need mi serve che + subjunctive sorprendereA2 to surprise mi sorprende che + subjunctive sperareA2 to hope spero che + subjunctive apparireB1 to appear appare che + subjunctive aspettarsiB1 to expect mi aspetto che + subjunctive attendereB1 to wait attendo che + subjunctive chiedereB1 to ask for chiedo che + subjunctive consigliareB1 to recommend consiglio che + subjunctive consigliareB1 to advise ti consiglio che + subjunctive dare fastidioB1 to disturb mi dà fastidio che + subjunctive deludereB1 to disappoint mi delude che + subjunctive detestareB1 to hate detesto che + subjunctive disturbareB1 to disturb mi disturba che + subjunctive dubitareB1 to doubt dubito che + subjunctive evitareB1 to avoid evito che + subjunctive immaginareB1 to imagine immagino che + subjunctive immaginarsiB1 to imagine mi immagino che + subjunctive parereB1 to appear pare che + subjunctive proibireB1 to forbid proibisco che + subjunctive proporreB1 to suggest propongo che + subjunctive raccomandareB1 to recommend raccomando che + subjunctive richiedereB1 to ask for richiedo che + subjunctive sembrareB1 to appear sembra che + subjunctive suggerireB1 to suggest suggerisco che + subjunctive supporreB1 to suppose suppongo che + subjunctive temereB1 to fear temo che + subjunctive vergognarsiB1 to be ashamed mi vergogno che + subjunctive vietareB1 to forbid vieto che + subjunctive bastareB2 to suffice basta che + subjunctive desiderareB2 to desire desidero che + subjunctive disapprovareB2 to disapprove disapprovo che + subjunctive essere sufficienteB2 to suffice è sufficiente che + subjunctive far fintaB2 to pretend faccio finta che + subjunctive fingereB2 to pretend fingo che + subjunctive infastidireB2 to disturb mi infastidisce che + subjunctive negareB2 to deny nego che + subjunctive preoccupareB2 to worry mi preoccupa che + subjunctive rammaricarsiB2 to regret mi rammarico che + subjunctive ritenereB2 to think ritengo che + subjunctive sopportareB2 to bear non sopporto che + subjunctive sospettareB2 to suspect sospetto che + subjunctive inquietareC1 to worry mi inquieta che + subjunctive smentireC1 to deny smentisco che + subjunctive
Opinions and beliefs

Any verb that expresses a personal thought or belief rather than an absolute certainty calls for the subjunctive. The most common examples are pensare, credere, and ritenere.

Penso che Giulia abbia ragione.
(I think Giulia is right.)

You will also use it with verbs like immaginare, immaginarsi, and supporre when you are making an educated guess or picturing a situation.

Suppongo che loro siano arrivati.
(I suppose that they have arrived.)
Doubts, denials, and appearances

Verbs that cast doubt on a reality or describe how things appear also require the subjunctive. This group includes dubitare, sospettare, negare, and smentire.

Dubito che Marco conosca la risposta.
(I doubt that Marco knows the answer.)

Similarly, verbs of appearance like sembrare, parere, and apparire suggest that something is an impression rather than a confirmed fact.

Mi sembra che tu stia molto meglio.
(It seems to me that you are doing much better.)
Hopes, fears, and desires

When you express a wish, a hope, or a fear, you are talking about something you want to happen or are worried might happen. This uncertainty calls for the subjunctive. Common verbs in this category include sperare, temere, volere, desiderare, preferire, and aspettarsi.

Spero che i bambini stiano bene.
(I hope the children are doing well.)
Voglio che tu venga con noi.
(I want you to come with us.)
Temo che il negozio sia chiuso.
(I fear that the store is closed.)
Watch out for the subject

There is one major exception to this rule. If the subject of the main verb is the exact same as the subject of the second verb, you do not use che and the subjunctive. Instead, you use the preposition di (or no preposition for verbs like volere and preferire) followed by an infinitive.

Penso di andare al mare.
(I think I will go to the beach.)
Preferisco restare a casa.
(I prefer to stay home.)
Summary

Whenever you use a verb expressing an opinion, doubt, emotion, or desire, and the action involves a new subject introduced by che, you must use the subjunctive mood in the following part of the sentence. If the subject remains the same, use an infinitive instead.