A subordinate clause is a clause that depends on another clause for its function in the sentence. While coordination ("e," "ma," "o") joins two clauses on equal footing, subordination makes one clause grammatically and semantically dependent on another. Italian builds long, articulated sentences out of stacked subordinate clauses — the hypotactic style of newspaper editorials, academic prose, and well-crafted speeches. Mastering the inventory of subordinators and the mood each one demands is the syntactic threshold between B1 and B2.
This page is a map. It surveys the three major types of subordinate clauses, lists the most common conjunctions that introduce each subtype, and tells you whether each requires indicativo, congiuntivo, or condizionale. Every individual conjunction has a dedicated page elsewhere; this overview is the framework you can hang those details on.
The three types
Italian subordinate clauses fall into three large families:
1. Complement clauses fill an argument slot — they function like a noun phrase. Introduced by che or di: Penso che sia vero / Penso di andarci.
2. Relative clauses modify a noun. Introduced by che, cui, il quale: Il libro che leggo.
3. Adverbial clauses modify a verb or a whole clause, supplying information about time, cause, purpose, concession, condition, or result. Introduced by a wide range of conjunctions: quando, perché, benché, se, affinché, etc.
The three families differ structurally and they differ in what mood they typically require. The rest of this page walks through each family in turn.
1. Complement clauses
The complement-clause family covers everything you might think of as "that"-clauses in English. They appear after verbs of saying, knowing, opining, doubting, willing, and feeling, and after nouns and adjectives expressing similar concepts.
Marco dice che viene domani.
Marco says he's coming tomorrow. (verb of statement — indicativo)
Penso che sia troppo tardi.
I think it's too late. (verb of opinion — congiuntivo)
Il fatto che venga lui mi rassicura.
The fact that he is the one coming reassures me. (noun complement)
Sono contento che tu sia qui.
I'm glad you're here. (adjective complement)
The mood depends on the lexical character of the head — factive heads (sapere, vedere, è vero, sicuro) take indicativo, subjective heads (pensare, credere, volere, è importante, contento) take congiuntivo. Same-subject pairs reduce to di + infinitive: Spero di vincere (not Spero che io vinca). The Complement Clauses page goes through this in detail.
2. Relative clauses
A relative clause modifies a noun. The most common relative pronoun in Italian is che (used for subjects and direct objects); after a preposition you use cui; the heavier il quale / la quale / i quali / le quali appears in formal writing.
Il libro che leggo è interessante.
The book I'm reading is interesting.
La persona di cui parlo è mia sorella.
The person I'm talking about is my sister.
Lo studente al quale ho dato il libro è italiano.
The student to whom I gave the book is Italian.
L'amico con cui sono andato in vacanza vive a Bologna.
The friend I went on vacation with lives in Bologna.
Relative clauses normally take indicativo, but they switch to congiuntivo when the antecedent is indefinite, superlative, negative, or unique — a very Italian construction:
Cerco un libro che parli della rivoluzione.
I'm looking for a book that talks about the revolution. (indefinite — congiuntivo)
È il film più bello che abbia mai visto.
It's the best film I've ever seen. (superlative — congiuntivo)
Non c'è nessuno che capisca davvero.
There's no one who really understands. (negative — congiuntivo)
The Relative Clauses pages explore each form. Italian, unlike English, never strands a preposition at the end of the clause: you say Con chi parli?, never Chi parli con?
3. Adverbial clauses
This is the largest family. Adverbial clauses are organized by what relation they express to the main clause: time, cause, purpose, concession, condition, result, manner, comparison. Each relation has its own set of conjunctions, and each set has its own mood requirement.
Temporal: when, while, before, after, until, as soon as
Indicativo (or futuro) with: quando, mentre, appena (as soon as), finché, dopo che
Quando arriverò a Roma, ti chiamerò.
When I arrive in Rome, I'll call you. (future-oriented temporal — futuro)
Mentre studiavo, è suonato il telefono.
While I was studying, the phone rang. (imperfetto — past simultaneity)
Appena arriva, glielo dico.
As soon as he arrives, I'll tell him.
Aspetto qui finché non torna.
I'll wait here until he comes back.
Congiuntivo with: prima che (before)
Vado via prima che arrivi.
I'll leave before he arrives. (prima che — congiuntivo)
Telefonami prima che sia troppo tardi.
Call me before it's too late.
The asymmetry is real and it surprises learners: prima che takes congiuntivo, but dopo che takes indicativo. The logic is that "before" describes an event whose realization is still open from the perspective of the main clause, while "after" describes an event already complete.
Causal: because, since, given that
Indicativo with: perché (because), poiché, siccome, dato che, visto che
Studio perché voglio imparare.
I study because I want to learn. (causal perché — indicativo)
Siccome era tardi, sono tornato a casa.
Since it was late, I went home.
Dato che non hai tempo, ci penso io.
Given that you don't have time, I'll take care of it.
Visto che sei qui, dammi una mano.
Since you're here, give me a hand.
The causal conjunctions all take indicativo because the speaker is asserting the cause as a fact.
Final / purpose: so that, in order that
Congiuntivo with: perché (so that — different from causal!), affinché (formal so that)
Studio perché tu impari.
I'm studying so that you may learn. (purpose perché — congiuntivo)
Te lo spiego affinché tu capisca meglio.
I'll explain it to you so that you understand better.
Parla piano perché tutti sentano.
Speak slowly so everyone can hear.
This is the dual perché: the very same conjunction takes indicativo when it means "because" and congiuntivo when it means "so that." The mood is the only signal that distinguishes the two readings.
Concessive: although, even though, despite
Congiuntivo with: benché, sebbene, nonostante, malgrado, quantunque (literary)
Benché sia stanco, continuo a studiare.
Although I'm tired, I keep studying.
Sebbene piova, usciamo lo stesso.
Even though it's raining, we'll go out anyway.
Nonostante abbia molti impegni, trova sempre tempo per noi.
Despite having many commitments, he always finds time for us.
Malgrado fosse in ritardo, ha fatto colazione con calma.
Despite being late, he had breakfast calmly.
The concessive conjunctions categorically take congiuntivo. There are no exceptions you need to memorize — the rule is the simplest in the system.
A frequent colloquial alternative is anche se + indicativo, which has roughly the same meaning:
Anche se sono stanco, continuo a studiare.
Even though I'm tired, I keep studying. (colloquial — indicativo)
Conditional: if, unless, provided that
Indicativo with simple se in real conditions; congiuntivo imperfetto / trapassato in hypothetical and counterfactual conditions; congiuntivo with a meno che, purché, qualora, a condizione che
Se hai tempo, vieni a trovarci.
If you have time, come visit us. (real — indicativo)
Se avessi tempo, verrei a trovarti.
If I had time, I would come visit you. (Type 2 — congiuntivo imperfetto + condizionale)
Se avessi avuto tempo, sarei venuto.
If I had had time, I would have come. (Type 3 — congiuntivo trapassato + condizionale passato)
Vengo a meno che non piova.
I'll come unless it rains.
Ti aiuto purché tu sia onesto.
I'll help you provided that you're honest.
Qualora dovessi cambiare idea, fammi sapere.
Should you change your mind, let me know.
Conditionals are detailed enough to deserve their own pages — see Conditionals Overview, Type 1, Type 2, Type 3.
Consecutive: so that (result), to such an extent that
Indicativo (when expressing a real consequence): così... che, tanto... che, talmente... che, al punto che
Era così stanco che si è addormentato in piedi.
He was so tired he fell asleep standing up.
Parla talmente piano che non si capisce.
He speaks so softly that you can't understand him.
Studia al punto che dimentica di mangiare.
He studies to the point of forgetting to eat.
Congiuntivo with in modo che / così che when expressing intended result:
Ti spiego tutto in modo che tu capisca.
I'll explain everything to you so that you understand. (intended result — congiuntivo)
Modal / manner: as, as if
Indicativo with come; congiuntivo imperfetto with come se
Fai come ti ho detto.
Do as I told you. (real — indicativo)
Si comporta come se fosse il padrone.
He acts as if he were the boss. (counterfactual — congiuntivo imperfetto)
Mi guardava come se non mi avesse mai visto.
He looked at me as though he had never seen me before.
Italian sentence structure: right-branching
Italian is right-branching: subordinate clauses overwhelmingly come after the main clause, not before. This is the opposite tendency from German (which famously stacks subordinates before the main verb) and weaker than English (which moves subordinates around fairly freely).
Vado a casa perché sono stanco.
I'm going home because I'm tired. (main + subordinate — natural Italian order)
Perché sono stanco, vado a casa.
Because I'm tired, I'm going home. (subordinate fronted — possible but more marked)
Quando avrò finito, ti chiamerò.
When I've finished, I'll call you. (temporal fronting is more common than other types)
Adverbial clauses of time and condition front fairly freely (especially in writing); causal, concessive, and consecutive clauses tend to stay after the main clause. When you do front a subordinate, set it off with a comma.
Multiple embedding
Italian formal style is famously tolerant of stacked subordinate clauses. Newspaper sentences regularly contain three or four levels of embedding — relative inside complement inside conditional, all controlled by a single matrix verb.
Penso che il libro che mi hai consigliato sia il migliore che abbia mai letto.
I think the book you recommended is the best one I've ever read. (complement → relative → relative)
Se avessi sentito quello che ha detto la persona che ha telefonato, avresti capito perché sono in ritardo.
If you had heard what the person who called said, you would have understood why I'm late. (conditional → relative → relative → causal)
This is one of the genuine differences between English and Italian style: where English splits complex thoughts into multiple short sentences, Italian builds a single hypotactic period. Both styles exist in both languages, but Italian's center of gravity is noticeably more subordinating.
Mood at a glance
| Conjunction class | Examples | Mood |
|---|---|---|
| Complement, factive | so che, è vero che | indicativo |
| Complement, subjective | penso che, voglio che | congiuntivo |
| Same-subject complement | spero di, penso di | infinito |
| Temporal (factual) | quando, mentre, appena | indicativo / futuro |
| Temporal "before" | prima che | congiuntivo |
| Causal | perché, siccome, dato che | indicativo |
| Final / purpose | perché, affinché | congiuntivo |
| Concessive | benché, sebbene, nonostante | congiuntivo |
| Concessive (colloquial) | anche se | indicativo |
| Conditional, real | se | indicativo |
| Conditional, hypothetical / counterfactual | se | congiuntivo + condizionale |
| Conditional, formal | a meno che, purché, qualora | congiuntivo |
| Consecutive (real result) | così... che, talmente... che | indicativo |
| Consecutive (intended) | in modo che | congiuntivo |
| Modal "as if" | come se | congiuntivo imperfetto |
Common mistakes
❌ Te lo ripeto perché lui capisce.
The dual perché — purpose meaning requires congiuntivo. With indicativo capisce, the sentence reads as causal: 'I'm repeating it because he understands' (which makes no sense as motivation).
✅ Te lo ripeto perché lui capisca.
I'm repeating it so that he may understand.
❌ Benché è stanco, continua a lavorare.
Concessive benché requires congiuntivo, never indicativo.
✅ Benché sia stanco, continua a lavorare.
Although he is tired, he keeps working.
❌ Vado via prima che arriva.
Prima che takes congiuntivo, not indicativo.
✅ Vado via prima che arrivi.
I'm leaving before he arrives.
❌ Quando arrivo a Roma, ti chiamo. (in formal writing about a future trip)
In formal/careful Italian, future-oriented temporal clauses take futuro in BOTH main and subordinate. The present-for-future is colloquial but heavy in writing.
✅ Quando arriverò a Roma, ti chiamerò.
When I arrive in Rome, I'll call you.
❌ Si comporta come se è un re.
Come se always takes congiuntivo imperfetto / trapassato.
✅ Si comporta come se fosse un re.
He acts as if he were a king.
❌ Penso che lui ha ragione.
Pensare requires congiuntivo.
✅ Penso che lui abbia ragione.
I think he's right.
Key takeaways
The Italian subordination system has three families and a small number of categorical mood rules. Complement clauses (introduced by che or di) take indicativo or congiuntivo depending on whether the matrix head is factive or subjective. Relative clauses (introduced by che, cui, il quale) normally take indicativo but switch to congiuntivo with indefinite, superlative, negative, or unique antecedents. Adverbial clauses organize by relation: temporal, causal, final, concessive, conditional, consecutive, modal — each with its own set of conjunctions and its own mood requirement, summarized in the table above. The single most useful rule of thumb: when in doubt about a conjunction you have not seen before, ask whether the subordinate clause expresses something factual and asserted (indicativo) or something subjective, hypothetical, or projected (congiuntivo). The traditional triggers fall out of that distinction, and the system stops feeling like a list of arbitrary rules and starts feeling like a coherent semantic architecture.
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