Thought Verbs (pensare, credere, ritenere, immaginare) | Italian Grammar

The thought verbs — pensare, credere, ritenere, immaginare, supporre, ipotizzare — form a tightly knit family in Italian. They all report mental states (opinions, beliefs, hypotheses) and they all share the same syntactic frames. Master one and you have largely mastered them all.

The single most important rule is mood selection: opinion and doubt trigger the congiuntivo; certainty triggers the indicativo. This is the heart of why Italian has a subjunctive at all — to mark the difference between "I know X is true" and "I think X is true." For English speakers, this distinction lives almost entirely in word choice (think vs know); in Italian, the verb form itself signals it.

The five frames

Every thought verb on this page enters into one or more of these frames:

Frame	Meaning	Example
verb + che + congiuntivo	Opinion / belief about a fact	Penso che sia vero.
verb + di + infinito	Opinion about oneself (same subject)	Penso di sapere.
pensare + a + thing/person	Have on one's mind	Penso a Marco.
pensare + di + infinito	Be considering doing (a plan)	Penso di partire.
credere + in + NP	Believe in (faith, value)	Crede in Dio.

Pensare: the core verb

Pensare is the most general thought verb in Italian — it covers "think," "consider," and "have in mind." Its construction depends entirely on what kind of "thinking" you mean.

Pensare che + congiuntivo (have the opinion that)

When you express an opinion about a state of affairs, use pensare che + congiuntivo:

Penso che sia vero.

I think it's true.

Pensiamo che abbiano ragione loro.

We think they're right.

Cosa pensi, che io sia stupido?

What do you think, that I'm stupid?

Pensare di + infinitive (be considering doing — a plan)

When the subject is the same and the action is a plan or intention, use pensare di + infinitive:

Penso di partire domani mattina.

I'm thinking of leaving tomorrow morning.

Pensavamo di andare al mare il weekend.

We were thinking of going to the beach this weekend.

Pensa di cambiare lavoro entro l'anno.

She's thinking of changing jobs by the end of the year.

Pensare a + topic (have on one's mind)

When you mean "have something in your thoughts," use pensare a:

Penso spesso a Marco, mi manca tanto.

I often think of Marco, I miss him so much.

A cosa stai pensando?

What are you thinking about?

Ci penso io, non ti preoccupare.

I'll take care of it, don't worry. (Note: ci replaces a + thing.)

The contrast between pensare a and pensare di is the most common stumbling block, treated in detail on the pensare a vs pensare di page.

Credere: belief

Credere corresponds to "believe" but, like pensare, can express opinion. The mood rule is the same: opinion triggers the subjunctive.

Credo che tu abbia ragione.

I believe you're right.

Non credo che venga alla festa.

I don't think she'll come to the party.

Credo di aver visto Luca al supermercato.

I think I saw Luca at the supermarket. (same subject — di + infinito)

For "believe in" (faith, principles), use credere in:

Crede in Dio ma non va in chiesa.

She believes in God but doesn't go to church.

Bisogna credere in se stessi.

One has to believe in oneself.

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The contrast between credo di sapere ("I think I know") and penso di partire ("I'm planning to leave") is subtle but real. Credere di + infinitive always expresses a belief about a fact concerning oneself. Pensare di + infinitive expresses a plan. Credo di partire sounds odd — say penso di partire instead.

Ritenere: the formal "consider, hold the opinion"

Ritenere belongs to the formal register (academic writing, journalism, official statements). It is a heavyweight version of pensare, often translatable as "consider," "deem," or "maintain."

Ritengo che la proposta sia interessante.

I consider the proposal to be interesting. (formal)

Gli esperti ritengono che la crisi sia ormai superata.

The experts maintain that the crisis is now over. (formal)

Ritengo di aver fatto il possibile.

I consider that I have done all I could. (formal — same subject)

In casual conversation, you would say penso or credo instead. Reserve ritenere for written or formal speech.

Immaginare, supporre, ipotizzare

These three verbs cover hypothesis and speculation. They share the same frames as pensare and credere — che + congiuntivo for full clauses, di + infinito for same subject — but they specifically frame the proposition as imagined or hypothesized rather than firmly believed.

Immagino che sia stanca dopo il viaggio.

I imagine she's tired after the trip.

Suppongo che tu abbia già mangiato.

I suppose you've already eaten.

Gli scienziati ipotizzano che il fenomeno sia di origine vulcanica.

Scientists hypothesize that the phenomenon is of volcanic origin.

Immagino di averti già detto questa storia mille volte.

I imagine I've told you this story a thousand times already.

The mood rule: certainty vs opinion

This is the central insight of the page. With thought verbs, mood depends on how the speaker frames the embedded proposition:

Frame	Mood	Example
Certainty (so, è chiaro, è certo, è vero)	indicativo	So che è vero.
Opinion (penso, credo, ritengo, immagino)	congiuntivo	Penso che sia vero.
Doubt / negation	congiuntivo	Non penso che sia vero.

So che Marco è in ritardo.

I know Marco is late. (certainty — indicative)

Penso che Marco sia in ritardo.

I think Marco is late. (opinion — subjunctive)

Non penso che Marco sia in ritardo.

I don't think Marco is late. (negated opinion — subjunctive)

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The negation rule matters. Penso che X takes the subjunctive (opinion). But here's the trap: Non penso che Xalso takes the subjunctive — because negating an opinion still leaves the proposition in the realm of doubt, not fact. Some learners try to "cancel out" the subjunctive by negating the main verb. It does not work.

Same subject = di + infinitive

When the subject of the thought verb is the same as the subject of the embedded action, Italian rejects the che + finite verb structure entirely. You must use di + infinito:

Penso di sapere la risposta.

I think I know the answer.

Crede di essere il migliore.

He believes he's the best.

Immagino di poter venire alle otto.

I imagine I can come at eight.

The construction *Penso che io sappia is ungrammatical. This is one of the most consistent transfer errors from English, where I think that I know is perfectly fine. In Italian, the same-subject infinitive is obligatory.

Spoken vs written: a register note

In informal speech, especially among younger speakers, you may hear the indicative used after pensare and credere even when traditional grammar requires the subjunctive: penso che è vero instead of penso che sia vero. This is documented and increasingly common, but it is still considered substandard in writing and formal speech. Learners should produce the subjunctive; recognize the indicative as a colloquial variant.

Common mistakes

❌ Penso che è vero.

Substandard — opinion verbs traditionally require the subjunctive.

✅ Penso che sia vero.

Correct — penso che + congiuntivo.

❌ Penso che io sappia la risposta.

Incorrect — same subject requires di + infinitive, not che + finite verb.

✅ Penso di sapere la risposta.

Correct — same-subject infinitive.

❌ Non penso che è venuto.

Incorrect — negating an opinion does not switch the mood back to indicative.

✅ Non penso che sia venuto.

Correct — non penso che + congiuntivo.

❌ Penso a partire domani.

Incorrect — pensare a is for things on your mind; planning takes pensare di.

✅ Penso di partire domani.

Correct — pensare di + infinitivo for plans.

❌ Credo di partire la prossima settimana.

Awkward — for a plan, use pensare di.

✅ Penso di partire la prossima settimana.

Correct — credere di expresses belief, not intention.

Key takeaways

The thought verbs share a tight set of patterns. Three points to take away:

Opinion triggers the subjunctive. Pensare, credere, ritenere, immaginare, supporre, ipotizzare — all of them require che + congiuntivo for opinions, even when negated.
Same subject requires di + infinitive. Penso di sapere, never penso che io sappia. The infinitive construction is obligatory, not optional.
Pensare splits three ways. Pensare che (opinion), pensare di + infinitive (plan), pensare a (have on one's mind). Confusing them is the most common pensare error — see the dedicated page.

For the full inventory of thought verbs, including memory and reasoning verbs (sapere, conoscere, ricordare, decidere, concludere), see the thought verbs complete reference. For the broader subjunctive logic, see the subjunctive with verbs of opinion.

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