Perfect Subjunctive

The Perfect subjunctive or past subjunctive ("congiuntivo passato"), is a "compound tense" (like the "passato prossimo") because it is formed with the present subjunctive of an auxiliary verbs ("essere" or "avere") plus the past participle of a verb.

Whether it requires "essere" or "avere", depends on the verb. If the verb is a transitive verb, it requires the auxiliary "avere". If the verb is intransitive (like most verbs that express movement or state of being) or if the verb is reflexive, it requires the auxiliary "essere".

Personal Pronoun Auxiliar "avere" Past Participle English

io

abbia

parlato

I have spoken, I spoke

tu

abbia

parlato

you have spoken, you spoke

lei

abbia

parlato

she has spoken, she spoke

noi

abbiamo

parlato

we have spoken, we spoke

voi

abbiate

parlato

you have spoken, you spoke

loro

abbiano

parlato

they have spoken, they spoke

Personal Pronoun Auxiliar "essere" Past Participle English

io

sia

arrivato

I have arrived, I arrived

tu

sia

arrivato

you have arrived, you arrived

lei

sia

arrivata

she has arrived, she arrived

noi

siamo

arrivati

we have arrived, we arrived

voi

siate

arrivati

you have arrived, you arrived

loro

siano

arrivate

they (f.) have arrived, they arrived


"Dormire" (to sleep), "rispondere" (to answer), "viaggiare" (to travel), "vivere" (to live) though intransitive require the auxiliary "avere" ("ho dormito, ho risposto, ho viaggiato, ho vissuto...")

Verbs that express movement, like "venire" (to come), "andare" (to go), "uscire" (to go out)... require the auxiliary "essere"

Verbs that express state of being, like "essere" (to be), "stare" (to stay), "rimanere" (to remain), "nascere" (to be born)... require the auxiliary "essere"

Examples:

  • Credo che abbiano ripreso le discussioni
      »  I think they resumed discussions
  • Mi dispiace che abbia parlato così
      »  I'm sorry that he spoke that way
  • Siamo contenti che siano venuti
     »  We're glad they came
  • Non credo che siano andati in Italia
     »  I don't believe they went to Italy