Tense agreement between the indicative and subjunctive modes: expressing anteriority
When the main clause contains a verb in the indicative or in the subjunctive and the subordinate clause contains and action that took place before the action described in the main clause, the verb tenses have to agree as follows:
| MAIN CLAUSE | SUBORDINATE CLAUSE | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Simple present (io penso, I think) Simple future (io penserò, I will think) Imperative (pensa, think) | Past subjunctive (che tu sia arrivato, that you arrived) | Io penso che tu sia arrivato (I think that you arrived)
Tu immaginerai che lui sia atterrato (You will imagine that he has landed) |
| Imperfect (io pensavo, I was thinking, I thought) Passato prossimo (perfect tense) (io ho pensato, I thought) Past perfect (io avevo pensato, I had thought) | Imperfect subjunctive (che tu arrivassi, that you were arriving) Past perfect subjunctive (che tu fossi arrivato, that you had arrived) | Io pensavo che tu arrivassi (I thought you were arriving)
Io ho immaginato che lei avesse vinto (I imagined she'd won) |
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