Sembra che + subjunctive: Italian grammar lesson 215

Stefano

Italian language tutor, course author. MEng, MBA. Member of the International Association of Hyperpolyglots (HYPIA). After learning 12 languages, I can tell you that we all master languages by listening and mimicking. I couldn’t find an app to recommend to my students, so I made my own one. With my method, you’ll be speaking Italian from Lesson 1.

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What is sembra che + subjunctive?

How to use sembra che + congiuntivo presente?

How to use sembra che + congiuntivo imperfetto?

How to use sembra che + congiuntivo passato?

How to use sembra che + congiuntivo trapassato?

Wanto to learn more?

Summary

Unlock the secrets of expressing opinions in Italian with flair! Dive into the nuances of using “sembra che” with the subjunctive mood to convey thoughts like a native speaker. 🇮🇹✨

Get the Basics: Master the phrase “sembra che” to share opinions, not facts. Just pop in the subjunctive form of the verb and you’re golden! 🌟
Personal Touch: Add pronouns like “mi, ti, gli” before “sembra” to personalize your statement. It’s all about that Italian charm! 😉
Subjunctive Variety: Play with all four subjunctive tenses – presente, imperfetto, passato, and trapassato – to match your mood and timeframe. 🕒
Present Tense: Use “congiuntivo presente” for current opinions. Think “Sembra che lei abbia ragione” when you reckon someone’s right now. 👍
Imperfect Subjunctive: Reflect on past opinions with “congiuntivo imperfetto”. “Sembrava che tu volessi andare via” is perfect for past hunches. 🤔
Past Subjunctive: When you’re discussing completed actions, “congiuntivo passato” is your go-to. Use it like “Sembra che abbiano portato via tutto” to talk about things that have happened. 🧐
Past Perfect Subjunctive: For opinions on actions that were completed before another past event, “congiuntivo trapassato” is the tense you need. 🔄
Keep Learning: Don’t stop here! Dive deeper into the subjunctive with phrases like “magari” and “prima che” to sound even more Italian. 📚

My thoughts

What is sembra che + subjunctive?

We use sembra che to express a personal opinion and not a fact. The structure is pretty simple since we don’t need to conjugate the verb sembrare. We just say sembra che and add the subjunctive.

Of course, the verb sembrare can also be in the past and might be preceded by pronouns mi, ti, gli, le, ci, vi, gli.

As we said in previous lessons, we can use sembrare with the four types of subjunctive: the presente,imperfetto, passato, and trapassato.