The Past Subjunctive

The Congiuntivo Passato is a compound tense used when the main clause is in a present or future tense, but the action in the subordinate clause happened in the past. It expresses past doubt, opinion, or emotion relative to a present thought.

Formation

You form it by combining the present subjunctive of the auxiliary verbs avere or essere with the past participle of the main verb.

• Avere auxiliary: abbia parlato, abbiamo visto, abbiano capito
• Essere auxiliary: sia andato/a, siamo partiti/e, siano venuti/e

Agreement with Essere

Remember that when using essere as the auxiliary, the past participle must agree in gender and number with the subject of the subordinate clause (e.g., Penso che lei sia andata vs Penso che loro siano andati).