As with our regular passato prossimo, the past subjunctive is used to express events that have taken place in the past.
In our previous lesson on the indicative past tense, we’ve explained the foundational structure of how this tense is formed: it is a compound tense that requires either avere or essere as an auxiliary verb to a past participle.
The past subjunctive tense is required instead of the past indicative tense (passato prossimo or passato remoto) whenever the subjunctive is required:
In the second example provided above, the verb in the independent clause--sperare--triggers the past subjunctive conjugation of the verb superare. The use of the past subjunctive for the verb superare implies that Maria has already taken the exam at some point in the past; the person making the statement is unaware of the result and hopes that she has passed it. The first example (which lacks a subjunctive trigger verb) states it as a fact, not an opinion, desire, or a doubt.
The same applies to using the past subjunctive over the present subjunctive; if the event in question has already happened, the past subjunctive is required:
In our previous lesson on the indicative past tense, we’ve explained the foundational structure of how this tense is formed: it is a compound tense that requires either avere or essere as an auxiliary verb to a past participle.
The past subjunctive tense is required instead of the past indicative tense (passato prossimo or passato remoto) whenever the subjunctive is required:
| Maria ha superato l’esame di inglese. Maria passed the English exam. Spero che Maria abbia superato l’esame di inglese. I hope that Maria passed the English exam. |
In the second example provided above, the verb in the independent clause--sperare--triggers the past subjunctive conjugation of the verb superare. The use of the past subjunctive for the verb superare implies that Maria has already taken the exam at some point in the past; the person making the statement is unaware of the result and hopes that she has passed it. The first example (which lacks a subjunctive trigger verb) states it as a fact, not an opinion, desire, or a doubt.
The same applies to using the past subjunctive over the present subjunctive; if the event in question has already happened, the past subjunctive is required:
| Spero che voi finiate il compito. I hope that you guys finish your homework (eventually). Spero che voi abbiate finito il compito. I hope that you guys finished (past) your homework. |