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The Subjunctive: Imperfetto Tense

Usage

It expresses a wish or a hope referred to an event which is thought to be unlikely. In secondary clause it expresses that the action take place as the same of that in the main clause, if the verb in the main clause is in a past tense. if the tense of the main clause is a present, the Subjunctive Imperfetto means that the action in the secondary clause took place before that in the main clause.

Auxiliaries

Essere (to be)	Avere (to have)
(che) io fòssi	(che) io avèssi
(che) tu fossi	(che) tu avessi
(che) egli/ella/esso fosse	(che) egli/ella/esso avesse
(che) noi fòssimo	(che) noi avèssimo
(che) voi fòste	(che) voi avèste
(che) essi fòssero	(che) essi avèssero

As I've told before, the Indicative Mode is used to talk about facts which are real, or which the speaker perceives as true.

potere(can,may)	dovere(must, to have to)	volere(want)
(che) io potèssi	(che) io dovèssi	(che) io volèssi
(che) tu potessi	(che) tu dovessi	(che) tu volessi
(che) egli/ella/esso potesse	(che) egli/ella/esso dovesse	(che) egli/ella/esso volesse
(che) noi potèssimo	(che) noi dovèssimo	(che) noi volèssimo
(che) voi potèste	(che) voi dovèste	(che) voi volèste
(che) essi potèssero	(che) essi dovèssero	(che) essi volèssero

Formation

In order to form the "Imperfetto" Subjunctive, you have to take the infinitive of the verb:
amare, leggere, dormire
Drop the infinitive desinence in order to obtain the verb's stem:
am-, legg-, dorm-
Then add the proper desinences, according to the following table:

1st Conjugation (-are)	-assi, -assi, -asse, -assimo, -aste, -assero
2nd Conjugation (-ere)	-essi, -essi, -esse, -essimo, -este, -essero
3rd Conjugation (-ire)	-issi, -issi, -isse, -issimo, -iste, -issero

Examples of conjugation

-are verbs: am-are(to love)	-ere verbs: legg-ere(to read)	-ire verbs: dorm-ire(to sleep)
(che) io amàssi	(che) io leggèssi	(che) io dormìssi
(che) tu amassi	(che) tu leggessi	(che) tu dormissi
(che) egli/ella/esso amasse	(che) egli/ella/esso leggesse	(che) egli/ella/esso dormisse
(che) noi amassimo	(che) noi leggessimo	(che) noi dormissimo
(che) voi amaste	(che) voi leggeste	(che) voi dormiste
(che) essi amassero	(che) essi leggessero	(che)essi dormissero (they sleep)

The verbs of the second conjugation in "-trarre", "-porre" and "-durre", and the verbs of the third conjugation which add "-isc-" follow the regular conjugation in this tense: estraessi etc...
supponessi etc...
conducessi etc...
finissi etc...
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The Subjunctive: "Trapassato" Tense

Formation

This tense is formed by the "Imperfetto" subjunctive of the auxiliary and the past participle of the verb:
(che) io fossi stato,
(che) io avessi avuto,
Pensavo che Laura avesse visto quel film,I thought Laura had watched that movie.
Remember that, in case the verb wants "essere" as the auxiliary, the participle takes the plural form when the subject is plural:
Pensavo che Laura e Lucia avessero visto quel film, I thought Laura and Lucia had watched that movie;
Pensavo che Giovanni e Luca fossero usciti pochi minuti fa, I thought Giovanni and Luca had left a few minutes ago.

For the formation using "volere", "dovere" and "potere" please refer to the Indicative Passato Prossimo page, but remember that you have to use the Subjunctive Passato.

Usage

It is express an impossible wish referred to past. In secondary clauses it expresses that the action take place before the action in the main clause which is always expressed using a past tense.
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