Learn Hardcore Italian: Se il ventilatore fosse più silenzioso, non disturberebbe la videochiamata. - If the fan were quieter, it wouldn’t disturb the video call.

Fosse is the imperfect subjunctive (congiuntivo imperfetto) of essere. In conditional sentences that express an unreal or hypothetical situation in the present, Italian uses se + congiuntivo imperfetto in the “if” clause.

Why does the sentence use the subjunctive (fosse) instead of the indicative (è)?

Italian distinguishes between:

Real conditions (use indicative): “Se il ventilatore è silenzioso, non disturba.”
Hypothetical or contrary-to-fact present conditions (use subjunctive): “Se il ventilatore fosse più silenzioso, non disturberebbe.”
Here the speaker imagines an unreal, more-quiet fan, so the imperfect subjunctive is required.

What mood and tense is disturberebbe?

Disturberebbe is the present conditional (condizionale presente) of disturbare. It conveys what would happen under the imagined condition.

How do you form the imperfect subjunctive of essere and the present conditional of disturbare?

• Imperfetto congiuntivo of essere:

io fossi
tu fossi
lui/lei fosse
noi fossimo
voi foste
loro fossero

• Condizionale presente of disturbare:

io disturberei
tu disturberesti
lui/lei disturberebbe
noi disturberemmo
voi disturbereste
loro disturberebbero

Why is più silenzioso an adjective here, and not più silenziosamente (an adverb)?

The phrase modifies ventilatore (a noun), so you need an adjective (silenzioso = “quiet”). If you wanted to describe the way it operates, you could use the adverb:
“Il ventilatore funzionerebbe più silenziosamente.”

Why is the definite article il used before ventilatore? In English we might say “If a fan were quieter …”

In Italian, singular, countable nouns typically require a definite article when you refer to a specific object or concept. Even a general statement about “the fan” needs il ventilatore. Using un ventilatore (“a fan”) would suggest any fan, not one the speaker has in mind.

Why isn’t there a di after più silenzioso (“more quiet”)?

Here più silenzioso is an absolute comparative (“quieter”). You only add di (or che) when comparing two explicit elements, e.g. più silenzioso di prima or più silenzioso che quell’altro.

Can I switch the order of the clauses, putting the result before the se clause?

Yes. Italian allows flexible word order without changing grammar:
“Non disturberebbe la videochiamata se il ventilatore fosse più silenzioso.”
Just keep the subjunctive in the se clause and the conditional in the main clause.

How would I express a past hypothetical, as in “If the fan had been quieter, it wouldn’t have disturbed the video call”?

Use the pluperfect subjunctive (trapassato congiuntivo) in the se clause and the past conditional (condizionale passato) in the main clause:
“Se il ventilatore fosse stato più silenzioso, non avrebbe disturbato la videochiamata.”

Why is videochiamata written as one word, and are there synonyms?

Many Italian compounds fuse into a single word. Videochiamata is standard for “video call.” A common synonym is videoconferenza, which often implies multiple participants rather than a one-on-one call.