Italian All-in-One For Dummies (178 page)

Chapter 5

“If” Clauses, the Impersonal, and the Passive

In This Chapter

Checking out “if” clauses

Investigating the impersonal and the passive

S
entences transmit messages and are composed of clauses. Verbs and subjects are essential to understanding clauses and consequently comprehending the message of a sentence. This chapter shows you how to use “if” clauses in hypothetical constructions, how to use impersonal forms to express actions that don't have a clearly identified subject, and how to recognize actions that are performed by an indirect object on a receiving subject (passive form).

Hypothetically Speaking: “If” Clauses throughout the Tenses

Hypothetical sentences, known in Italian as
frasi ipotetiche con se,
translate into English as
If . . .
sentences. They cover a wide range of speech and include many of the tenses covered in this book. Hypothetical constructions always have two parts: a dependent clause introduced by the word
se
(
if
), and the main or independent clause that refers to the result of whatever you postulate or hypothesize in the “if” clause. The verb tenses you use in both clauses depend on the type of hypothetical sentence you want to construct.

Italian features three types of hypothetical constructions: expressions of reality, probability, and impossibility. Each type uses specific verb tenses. And guess what? All three are covered in the following sections, and so is the phrase
as if.

Expressing conditions within the realm of reality

One type of hypothetical construction lies within the realm of fact, reality, or actuality. If you say, for example,
Se
mangio
il gelato,
ingrasso
(
If I eat ice cream, I gain weight
), you express a fact or a reality in your life. Notice the use of the present tense in both the dependent clause (
mangio
) and independent clause (
ingrasso
). You gain weight if you eat ice cream — period!

As in English, the order of your clauses doesn't matter; you can also say
Ingrasso
se
mangio
il gelato
(
I gain weight if I eat ice cream
). What matters is that you attach the word
se
to the dependent clause (the “if” statement that implies the condition, not the result).

The verb tenses you use for the fact/reality hypothetical construction are precisely those tenses that allow you to speak with certainty, as outlined in
Table 5-1
.

Table 5-1 Hypothetical Constructions in Reality

*Present indicative listings also include reflexive verbs

**Both of these verbs are reflexive:
innamorarsi
and
pentirsi

All the examples in
Table 5-1
denote, in some way or another, the certainty of something that's happening, that happened, that didn't happen, or that will happen. You see no doubt implied in any of the examples.

You don't always combine the verb tenses from the dependent clause in the left column in
Table 5-1
with the verb tenses directly opposite them in the right-hand column denoting the main (independent) clause. You can mix and match your possibilities of hypothetical constructions in the realm of reality, as in the following examples. It all depends on what you want to say!

Present perfect + future:
Se
hai fatto
tutto,
non
dovrai
preoccuparti
.
(
If you've done everything, you'll not have to worry.
)

Present indicative + imperative:
Se
vuole sedersi
,
si sieda, prego
!
(
If you wish to sit, please have a seat!
)

Examining hypothetical constructions of probability and possibility

The hypothetical condition of probability and possibility implies that an action is conditional. In other words, this type of sentence always translates into, roughly, “If such and such were to happen, this and that would happen.” Probability constructions are much more straightforward and simple than reality constructions (see the previous section). They usually require two different tenses: the imperfect subjunctive (see
Chapter 6
in Book IV) and the conditional (see
Chapter 5
in Book IV):

Se
+
congiuntivo imperfetto
(
imperfect subjunctive
) +
il condizionale
(
present conditional
):
Se io
studiassi
(imperfect subjunctive),
andrei bene
(present conditional)
a scuola
.
(
If I were to study
[
If I studied
]
, I would do well in school.
)

You can also reverse the order of the clauses, placing the independent one first — it doesn't matter as long as the imperfect subjunctive is in the dependent or subordinate clause:

Uscirei
(present conditional)
se non
dovessi
studiare
(imperfect subjunctive)
questi verbi!
(
I'd go out if I didn't have to study these verbs!
)

You may also use a second, less-common verb tense combination for probability constructions. This combination comes in handy when you want to express regret, after the fact. You're speaking from a present standpoint about the past (even though you use the imperfect subjunctive). For example,
Se io
fossi
intelligente,
avrei studiato
ieri invece di
andare
a
ballare
(
If I were smart, I would have studied yesterday instead of going dancing
). Here's the structure: