The subjunctive: theory and practice 1. Introduction 2. Basic examples 3. If-then statements: the periodo ipotetico 4. Abstract use of the subjunctive 5. Obligatory subjunctives are redundant 6. The triple life of perch´e 7. The same-subject rule 8. Can the subjunctive have a tense? 9. Miscellaneous further uses 10. The subjunctive in English 11. Is the subjunctive necessary? 1 Introduction In grammar books and textbooks one can find long lists of situations in which the subjunctive is used. For example, in [Graziano] we find the headings (1) \after impersonal expressions", (2) \after verbs of volition", (3) \after verbs of emotion", (4) \after verbs of doubt and denial", and (5) \after conjunctions", although in this last case he really means \after certain conjunctions". In the textbook Parla e Scrivi by E. Janfrancesco there are ten categories of main clause verbs followed by the subjunctive in the subordinate clause, with about thirty verbs in all given as examples, plus eight further categories defined in terms of the subordinate clause, with twenty-four different examples. But the list of sample verbs is far from complete, and by no means do all of these categories necessarily take the subjunctive. To learn the subjunctive in this way would be a daunting task indeed. It would also be the wrong approach. The right question is: What do these examples have in common? After all, the subjunctive mood seems to have evolved independently in many completely different languages, and this strongly suggests that some basic principle underlies its use. In the case of Italian, at least, a beautifully simple explanation is given in [Maiden-Robustelli], p. 315: Beginners sometimes ask \What does the subjunctive mean?" A better question, in fact might be \What does the indicative mean?", for the subjunctive arguably means rather less than the indicative, and this is part of the key to its useage. It may be helpful to view the subjunctive as being similar to the infinitive, which expresses the \dictionary definition”, \what the verb basically means"...It follows from the above that the subjunctive, rather than the indicative, will tend to occur in contexts which assert or imply that the verb is not \realized". So we have a very elegant conceptual basis for the subjunctive, which I will formulate as an abstract principle, the Realization Principle: The indicative expresses an actual realization of a verb; the subjunctive expresses the hypothetical or abstract possibility of realization. On the hypothetical side we have possibility, probability, desire, belief, hope, expectation, intention, fear, etc. that a verb may be realized; on the abstract side we have verbs that 1 may or not be realized but are presented in abstract form (e.g. il fatto che + subjunctive; see below for examples). Of course, language is never that simple. To quote again from [M-R]: \There is, then, no point in trying to pretend that there is a magic formula that can predict every occurence of the subjunctive." Indeed, any language with a subjunctive also comes with an arbitrary set of conventional rules|violating the Realization Principle ad hoc|for using it. The subjunctives of Italian, French and Hungarian all follow the Principle up to a point, but each has its own set of arbitrary rules. This is what can make the subjunctive difficult. The beautiful thing about the Italian subjunctive, however, is that it follows the Realization Principle to a remarkably high degree of accuracy. Note: Many of the examples used in this chapter are taken from the novels of Gianrico Carofiglio, particularly the first three of his four-volume series on Bari defense lawyer Guido Guerrieri: Testimone Inconsapevole, Ad Occhi Chiusi, and Ragionevoli Dubbi. 2 Basic examples Let's begin with a few examples from the textbook [Jafrancesco], p. 180-81: • Suppongo che tuo fratello arrivi in treno. \I suppose your brother is arriving by train." • Temo che tu non mi abbia capito. \I'm afraid you didn't understand me." • Esigo che tu mi dica la verita. \I demand that you tell me the truth." • Dubito che Fabrizio si faccia vivo con Paola. \I doubt that Fabrizio would show up with Paola." • E` piuttosto improbabile che abbiano gi`avenduto quella casa. \It's rather unlikely that they've already sold that house." • Pare che Giulia stia meglio. \It seems that Giulia is better." Thus: Your brother may or may not be arriving by train, you may or may not have understood me, you may or may not be telling me (or have told me) the truth, Fabrizio may or may not show up with Paola, they may or may not have sold that house, Giulia may or may not be better. What unifies these cases is that the action or state described by the verb is not actually realized, or not known to be realized. In fact, if you look at the thirty or so examples listed in [Janfrancesco], you will see that there is only one category that doesn't seem to fit with the Realization Principle, exemplified by: Sono contento che i miei amici si siano divertiti. \I'm happy that my friends had fun." At first glance this appears not to fit the model, as the verb in question has definitely been realized. As we'll see later, however, it fits the Realization Principle in a different way. An important point sometimes obscured in the grammar texts is that verbs implying belief, doubt, etc. such as credo che, mi chiedo che do not necessarily trigger the subjunctive. Consider the following excerpt from Ad Occhi Chiusi: 2 Quando andai in cancelleria a depositare la costituzione di parte civile ebbi l'impressione che il funzionario addetto alla ricezione degli atti mi guardasse in modo strano. Andando via mi chiesi se aveva fatto caso a qual era il processo in cui mi ero costituito parte civile e se era per quel motivo che mi aveva guardato in quel modo. Mi chiesi se quel cancelliere avesse rapporti con Scianatico padre, o magari con Dellisanti. Poi mi dissi che forse stavo diventando paranoico e lasciai perdere. \When I went to the court clerk's office to deposit the papers establishing the civil action, I had the impression that the employee in charge of receiving documents was looking at me in as strange way. As I left I wondered if he had paid any attention to the particular trial in which I was to represent the civil action, and if it was for that reason that he had looked at me in that way. I wondered if the clerk had any connections with Scianatico's father [Scianatico is the accused], or perhaps with Dellisanti. Then I told myself that maybe I was becoming paranoid, and let it go." The first paragraph is included just for background. The key point to note is that mi chiesi occurs twice, in one case followed by the indicative and and in the other by the subjunctive. The choice is surely made by the author and not by any set rule, but I am told that native speakers would make this choice naturally without even thinking about it. (The subjunctive mi guardassi is of course triggered by ebbi l'impressione che.) 3 If-then statements and the periodo ipotetico Even in its most abstract theoretical form, the Realization Principle does not assert that all unrealized verbs should be put into the subjunctive. For example, any verb referring to the future can be regarded as unrealized, but that's what the future tense is for (or frequently, the present tense used with a future aspect). I can say Domani andr`oal mare or Domani vado al mare, in which case the verb should be regarded as \realized in the future" and certainly wouldn't take the subjunctive even in my idealized theoretical framework. An interesting case is that of conditional if-then statements: If P, then Q. The main point at issue is whether the hypothetical P should be in the subjunctive. The standard textbook formula is known as the \periodo ipotetico", a nice summary of which can be found in [Jafrancesco], Venticinquesima Lezione (see the \Schema generale"). The summary can in turn be summed up by the Realization Principle: the choice of indicative or subjunctive in P is determined by the likelihood of P being realized (there is also the concordance of tenses to consider, but that is a separate issue). Moreover this really is a choice more than a formula; it is up to the speaker to decide|which is as it should be if the subjunctive is to have real meaning. Simple textbook examples are Se io fossi ricco, ti comprerei una macchina and Se stasera mi sento meglio, domani partir`o. The first takes a subjunctive even in English, \If I were rich, I would buy you a new car." The second \If I feel better this evening, I'll leave tomorrow" is in the indicative, but of a type that can also be put in the subjunctive. For instance, 3 in [Janfrancesco] the very first example is se domani fosse una bella giornata, potremmo andarci insieme, which could be translated as \if it's a nice day tomorrow, we could go there [downtown] together". However, the subjunctive fosse puts a little more doubt on the \if". Not many English speakers would say \if it were a nice day tomorrow"; a more likely colloquial equivalent would be \if it turns out to be nice tomorrow". Many variations on this theme are possible: the ordering of the clauses P and Q can be reversed, the \if" can be left implicit, the conditional can be left implicit, and so on.