avessimo

Avessimo is the first-person plural imperfect subjunctive form of the Italian verb avere. It is used in dependent clauses to express hypothetical, uncertain, or non-realized actions in the past, or to convey mood in more formal or literary contexts. The form is part of the congiuntivo (subjunctive) mood, specifically the imperfetto and, in compound tenses, the trapassato congiuntivo.

Usage and examples

Avessimo appears primarily in subordinate clauses introduced by se or che, and in clauses that depend on verbs or expressions of doubt, possibility, emotion, or opinion. In its trapassato congiuntivo form, it combines with a past participle to indicate an action completed before another past action. For example:

- Se noi avessimo tempo, partiremmo subito. (If we had time, we would leave immediately.)

- Dubito che noi avessimo capito il problema. (I doubt that we had understood the problem.)

- Speravo che noi avessimo finito in tempo. (I hoped that we had finished in time.)

In more formal or literary Italian, avessimo also functions in the congiuntivo trapassato to express past events in subordinate clauses after past-tense or conditional main clauses:

- Era probabile che noi avessimo commesso un errore. (It was probable that we had made a mistake.)

Form and relation

Avessimo is the 1st person plural form of the imperfect subjunctive derived from avere. Its corresponding present subjunctive form is abbiamo; avessimo contrasts with the other person and number forms of the imperfect subjunctive (avessi, avesse, aveste, avessero). The form is generally more frequent in written, formal, or literary Italian and in careful or historical narration, rather than in everyday spoken language.

See also

Congiuntivo imperfetto, congiuntivo trapassato, Italian grammar.