avessero

Avessero is the third-person plural form of the congiuntivo imperfetto of the Italian verb avere. It is used in dependent clauses to convey nonreal or subjective past situations and is essential for forming the trapassato congiuntivo (past perfect subjunctive).

Form and derivation: The form comes from the stem 'av-' of avere plus the imperfect subjunctive ending '-essero' for the third person plural. The full set of congiuntivo imperfetto endings for avere is avessi, avessi, avesse, avessimo, aveste, avessero, with 'avessero' marking the third-person plural. Etymology traces back to Latin habēre and the Latin imperfect subjunctive endings.

Usage: Avessero appears in clauses requiring the subjunctive, typically after verbs of thinking, wishing, fearing, or in conditional clauses introduced by se. Common uses include hypothetical past possibilities and expressions of past events viewed from a subjective standpoint. For example: "Se loro avessero tempo, avrebbero partecipato" (If they had had time, they would have participated); "Mi sembra che loro avessero finito il lavoro" (It seems that they had finished the work); "È possibile che loro avessero già mangiato" (It is possible that they had already eaten). When used with a past participle, it forms the trapassato congiuntivo: "avessero parlato", "avessero finito".

Notes: In modern speech the imperfect subjunctive is less frequent in everyday conversation, with speakers often preferring periphrastic or indicative constructions, but avessero remains standard in formal writing, reported speech, and literature.