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Special Clauses

In order to learn how complex sentences are made, a basic understanding of the different kind of clauses is necessary. A complex sentence is one which contains more than one verb:
Mangio una mela e leggo un libro I eat an apple and I read a book.
Mentre Luca mangia una mela Paolo legge un libro While Luca eats an apple Paolo reads a book.
The two above are examples of complex sentences.
The clauses covered in this section are:

• Subjective clauses
• Relative clauses
• Conditional sentences

Subjective Clauses

Subjective clauses are clauses that are the subject object of a main clause. They can be formed in two different ways:

che + indicative mood when the verb in the main clause conveys an idea of certainty.

che + subjunctive mood when the verb in the main clause conveys an idea of doubt, supposition, probability.

infinitive mood, sometimes preceded by the preposition "di" in both the occasions I mentioned above.

But the safest constructions are the last two.
This kind of clause usually follows:

the verb "piacere":

Mi piace che tu indossi quel vestito I like you wearing that dress

the verb be followed by and adjective or a nouns:

Votare è un dovere Voting is a duty

E' ora di partire It's time to leave

E' gentile da parte tua aiutare mio zio It's kind of you to help my uncle

E' giusto che Giovani colga questa opportunità It's right that Giovanni takes this opportunity

expressions meaning "it seems":

Sembra che il Primo ministro perderà le elezioni It seems that the Prime Minister will lose the elections

Pare che il tuo amico sia stanco It seems to me that your friend is tired/your friend looks tired

expressions meaning "happen/occur":

Qualche volta mi capita/succede/accade di avere gli incubi I happen to have nightmares sometimes.

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