Qual è la differenza tra the imperfect subjunctive tense e trapassato subjunctive tense ?Sentiti libero di rispondere con un esempio.

Il congiuntivo imperfetto is normally used

1. with verbs which express wishes, thoughts, beliefs, worries, and doubts, e.g.: volere (to want), sperare (to hope), pensare (to think), credere (to believe), temere (to be afraid), dubitare (to doubt), when these verbs are followed by the conjunction che (that). Here are some examples: Giovanni voleva che lo aiutaste a ridipingere la camera (Giovanni wanted you [plural] to help him repaint the bedroom); Lucia pensava  che Maria partisse oggi per le vacanze (Lucia thought that Maria was leaving today for her holidays);mi sono stupita che tu fossi ancora lì (I was surprised that you were still there); avevo paura che Carlo non ce la facesse a superare l’esame (I was worried that Carlo wouldn’t be able to pass the exam).

2. following impersonal verbs conjugated in the past (mainly imperfetto indicativo, the normal imperfect tense), such as bastava che (it was enough/sufficient that), bisognava che (it was necessary that), si diceva che(it was said). Here are some examples: bisognava che Carlo studiasse di più(it was necessary for Carlo to study more); bastava che tu mi dicessi con che treno saresti arrivato (you only needed to tell me which train you would have arrived on); si diceva che questa fosse una leggenda (this was said to be a legend).

3. following impersonal constructions used in the past (mainly the ‘imperfetto indicativo’), such as era meglio (it was better), era un peccato (it was a pity), non era giusto (it was unfair). Here are some examples: era meglio che veniste oggi pomeriggio (it was better that you [plural] came this afternoon); era un peccato che tu non potessi venire (it was a pity that you weren’t able to come).

4. following the conditional form of all the verbs and constructions listed above in 1, 2, and 3, e.g. vorrei che tu smettessi di fumare (I would like you to stop smoking); bisognerebbe che Carlo studiasse di più per poter passare l’esame (it would be necessary for Carlo to study more in order to pass the exam); non sarebbe giusto se fossi sempre io a lavare i piatti (it wouldn’t be fair if it was always me that had to wash the dishes).

5. following conjunctions built with che, such as prima che (before), affinché(so that, in order that), a meno che (unless), nel caso che (in case), e.g.siamo dovuti partire prima che facesse buio (we had to leave before it got dark); ti ho aiutato affinché tu potessi superare l’esame (I helped you so that you could pass the exam).

6. following the conjunction se (if) when talking about an imagined situation.

The congiuntivo trapassato is used when talking about the past to refer to things that had already happened, e.g. ‘I had gone’, ‘you had finished’ etc. You should use the congiuntivo trapassato to:

1. say what you thought, wished or hoped about something in the past. Here are some examples: speravamo che non avesse piovuto (we hoped it hadn’t rained); Lucia pensava che Maria fosse partita sabato scorso per le vacanze(Lucia thought that Maria had left last Saturday for her holidays); ero stupita che tu fossi rimasto ancora (I was surprised that you had remained longer);avevo paura che Carlo non ce l’avesse fatta a superare l’esame (I was worried that Carlo hadn’t been able to pass the exam).


2. talk about the past after impersonal verbs followed by the conjunctionche, such as sembrava che (it seemed that), si diceva che (it was said that), e.g. sembrava che Giorgio avesse cambiato lavoro (it seemed that Giorgio had changed job); si diceva che lui fosse stato in America da bambino (they said that he had been to America when he was a child).

3. talk about the past after impersonal constructions such as era facile / difficile che (it was  likely / unlikely that), era meglio che (it was better that),era un peccato che (it was a pity that), non era giusto che (it wasn’t fair that), e.g. Era un peccato che lei non avvese potuto completare il corso (it was a pity that she hadn’t been able to complete the course); sarebbe stato meglio che foste venuti ieri pomeriggio (it would have been better if you [plural] had come yesterday afternoon).

4. express a possibility or a condition that should have happened in the past following conjunctions built with che, such as a meno che (unless), nel caso che (in case), a condizione che (on condition that), purché (provided that),benché (even though/although). Here are some examples: gli zucchini sono morti benché li avessi innaffiati tutti i giorni (the zucchini plants died even though I had watered them every day); avevo promesso di portarti al cinema a condizione che tu avessi finito i compiti (I had promised to take you to the cinema on condition that you had finished your homework)

5. talk about an imagined situation in the past following the conjuction se(if): se avessi vinto la lotteria avrei comprato una casa al mare (if I had won the lottery I would have bought a house by the sea); se Carlo avesse studiato di più avrebbe superato l’esame  senza problemi (if Carlo had studied more he would have passed the exam without any problem).