Stefano:	Secondo te perché a differenza di Francia, Germania e altri paesi europei, in Italia i partiti populisti e nazionalisti sembrano riscuotere così tanto successo?
Benedetta:	Bella domanda! Immagino sia perché propongono programmi politici che sembrano rispondere alle richieste della gente in tema di sicurezza, economia, immigrazione… Anche se spesso si tratta di chiacchiere che difficilmente si traducono in qualcosa di concreto!
Stefano:	Hai ragione! Questa può essere una spiegazione valida.

Concessive conjunctions introduce a dependent clause which somehow conflicts with the statement expressed in the main clause, and makes it seem surprising. Basically, concessive clauses present us with a seemingly counterintuitive scenario, highlighting the non-occurrence of a relationship of causality.

Typically, these Italian conjunctions are equivalent to the English even if/even though, although and despite:

Nonostante avessi studiato, non riuscivo a ricordare la risposta corretta. Although I had studied, I could not remember the correct answer.

We expect someone who has studied to be able to produce the correct answers when taking an exam. However, as shown in the example above, this did not happen to the speaker, and the conjunction nonostante draws our attention to this outcome.

Below is the set of concessive subordinate conjunctions that we’ll be exploring in this lesson:

benché = although, though
sebbene = although, even though
quantunque = although
seppure = even if/even though, albeit
per quanto = although
malgrado = although, even though; despite (the fact that)
nonostante = although, even though; despite (the fact that)
*anche se = even if/even though

*The conjunctions presented in this lesson all trigger the subjunctive mood in the verb that follows (as we can see in the example above), with the exception of anche se, which can take either the subjunctive (imperfect and past perfect subjunctive) or the indicative.

Note that when anche se is followed by a verb in the subjunctive mood, the main clause takes a verb in the conditional mood.

Anche se ha promesso di non svelare il nostro segreto, non so se posso fidarmi. Even if he/she promised not to reveal our secret, I’m not sure I can trust him/her. Anche se avessi promesso di non raccontare il loro segreto a nessuno, per te farei un’eccezione. Even if I had promised not to tell their secret to anyone, I would make an exception for you.

Anche se can also take the conditional mood, as we can see in the example below:

Giovanni ha messo in vendita il suo appartamento, anche se preferirebbe affittarlo. Giovanni has put his apartment on the market, even though he would rather rent it out.

The conjunctions benché, sebbene and quantunque are interchangeable in meaning:

Benché/ Sebbene/ Quantunque fosse quasi mezzanotte, mi misi a vedere un film. Although it was almost midnight, I started watching a movie.

The conjunctive phrase per quanto also translates to although:

L’equazione, per quanto sia difficile, può essere risolta. The equation, although difficult, can be solved.

Seppure and anche se both translate to even if/even though, but remember: anche se often triggers the indicative mood:

Seppure fossero stanchi, non volevano smettere di giocare. Anche se erano stanchi, non volevano smettere di giocare. Even if/though they were tired, they didn’t want to stop playing.

Malgrado and nonostante can either stand alone or be followed by che, though the latter form is seldom used in modern Italian:

Malgrado/ Nonostante (che) avessimo freddo, uscimmo per vedere le stelle. Despite (the fact that)/ Although we were cold, we went out to see the stars.

Generally, the two clauses can switch places without affecting the overall meaning of the sentence:

Non so se posso fidarmi, anche se ha promesso di non svelare il nostro segreto. I’m not sure I can trust him/her, even if he/she promised not to reveal our secret. Non riuscivo a ricordare la risposta corretta, nonostante avessi studiato. I could not remember the correct answer, although I had studied.