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Why 'benché' and 'sebbene' take the subjunctive but 'anche se' does not

Italian has several ways to say although or even though. The tricky part is that they do not all take the same verb mood. Benché, sebbene and nonostante are followed by the subjunctive, while anche se, which means exactly the same thing, is followed by the ordinary indicative.

This surprises English speakers for two reasons. English uses the same verb form after every concessive word: you say "although he is rich" and "even though he is rich". Many learners also expect the subjunctive to signal doubt or wishes, so they are puzzled when Italian uses it for something that is plainly true. With these conjunctions, the subjunctive has nothing to do with doubt. The conjunction alone decides the mood.

Word list
anche seB1 although + indicative: anche se è tardi malgradoB1 despite + subjunctive: malgrado sia tardi (but malgrado la pioggia = despite the rain) nonostanteB1 although + subjunctive: nonostante sia tardi sebbeneB1 although + subjunctive: sebbene sia tardi benchéB2 although + subjunctive: benché sia tardi
How it works

A concessive clause admits a fact that you might expect to stop the main action, and then says the main action happens anyway. In Italian, the word that opens the clause decides the mood of its verb:

  • benché, sebbene, nonostante + subjunctive: benché sia tardi
  • anche se + indicative: anche se è tardi

Both versions mean "although it's late", and both state a real fact. The meaning stays the same, only the verb form changes. A simple rule of thumb: if you can split the word into two little words, anche and se, use the indicative. If it is a single word ending in -ché or -bene, or it is nonostante, use the subjunctive.

The subjunctive tense follows the main verb. Use the present subjunctive when the main clause is in the present (sia, piova). Use the imperfect subjunctive when the main clause is in the past (fosse, piovesse).

The words
Benché and sebbene

Benché and sebbene are interchangeable. Sebbene sounds slightly more formal, but both are common in writing and in careful speech.

Benché sia ricco, vive in modo semplice.
(Although he's rich, he lives simply.)
Benché sia stanca, continua a lavorare.
(Although she's tired, she keeps working.)
Sebbene faccia freddo, Marco va in ufficio in bici.
(Even though it's cold, Marco cycles to the office.)
Sebbene abbia studiato molto, non ha passato l'esame.
(Although he studied a lot, he didn't pass the exam.)
Nonostante

When nonostante introduces a full clause with its own verb, it means "even though" and takes the subjunctive, just like benché.

Nonostante sia stanco, lavora fino a tardi.
(Even though he's tired, he works until late.)
Siamo usciti nonostante piovesse.
(We went out even though it was raining.)

Less common words such as quantunque and per quanto follow the same pattern: per quanto sia difficile, "however hard it is".

Anche se

Anche se is the everyday choice in conversation, and it takes the indicative. Use whatever tense you would use in a normal statement.

Anche se piove, vado a correre.
(Even though it's raining, I'm going running.)
Anche se era tardi, abbiamo continuato a parlare.
(Even though it was late, we kept talking.)
Watch out

The typical mistake is mixing the two patterns: benché è tardi or anche se sia tardi. Once you have chosen the conjunction, the mood follows automatically.

Anche se does take the subjunctive in one case: when the situation is imaginary rather than real, as in English "even if it were true". The verb is then usually the imperfect subjunctive, and the main clause is usually conditional.

Anche se fosse vero, non cambierebbe niente.
(Even if it were true, it wouldn't change anything.)

Nonostante can also come directly before a noun. In that case it means "despite", there is no verb, and the question of mood does not come up. Malgrado works the same way: malgrado tutto, "despite everything". When malgrado opens a clause, it also takes the subjunctive.

Nonostante la pioggia, siamo usciti.
(Despite the rain, we went out.)

Finally, in relaxed speech you may hear the indicative after nonostante. This is common, but in writing and in exams stick to the subjunctive.

Summary

To say although or even though about a real fact, choose your conjunction and let it decide the mood. Benché, sebbene and nonostante + clause always take the subjunctive (benché sia tardi). Anche se takes the indicative (anche se è tardi), and switches to the subjunctive only for imaginary situations (anche se fosse vero).