Speravo che il tornello si aprisse subito, invece la tessera non funzionava.

Speravo is the imperfetto of sperare and means I was hoping.

It fits here because the sentence describes a situation in the past and sets the scene:

• Speravo... = I was hoping...
• then something went wrong: invece la tessera non funzionava = but the card wasn’t working

Why not the others?

• Spero = I hope / I am hoping now, in the present
• Ho sperato = I hoped, but this sounds more like a completed, finished act of hoping, not the ongoing background feeling in that moment

So speravo is the most natural choice for I was hoping.

After verbs like sperare, Italian normally introduces the next clause with che.

So:

• Speravo che... = I was hoping that...

This is very common in Italian:

• Penso che... = I think that...
• Credevo che... = I thought that...
• Temevo che... = I feared that...

In English, that is often optional:

• I was hoping the turnstile would open
• I was hoping that the turnstile would open

In Italian, che is normally required here.

Because after speravo che, Italian normally uses the subjunctive.

So:

• Speravo che il tornello si aprisse = I was hoping that the turnstile would open

Aprisse is the imperfetto congiuntivo of aprire.

Why not si apriva?

• si apriva is indicative imperfect, used for things presented as facts or descriptions
• but here the opening is not a fact; it is something hoped for, expected, or uncertain

That is why Italian uses the subjunctive:

• Speravo che... si aprisse not
• Speravo che... si apriva

Aprisse is the imperfetto congiuntivo form of aprire.

Here is the relevant pattern:

From aprire:

• present subjunctive: apra, apra, apra, apriamo, apriate, aprano
• imperfect subjunctive: aprissi, aprissi, aprisse, aprissimo, apriste, aprissero

In this sentence:

• il tornello is singular
• so we use third person singular: aprisse

So:

• che il tornello si aprisse = that the turnstile would open

Here si aprisse does not mean the turnstile is literally doing something to itself in the same way English reflexives work.

With many things like doors, windows, gates, and turnstiles, Italian commonly uses aprirsi to mean to open.

Examples:

• La porta si apre = The door opens
• Il cancello si è aperto = The gate opened
• Il tornello si aprisse = the turnstile would open

So this si is part of the natural Italian way to express that something opens.

English often just says:

• the door opened

Italian often says:

• la porta si è aperta

Normally, no. For this meaning, si aprisse is the natural choice.

Without si, aprire is usually transitive, meaning to open something:

• Ho aperto la porta = I opened the door

When the thing itself opens, Italian often uses the pronominal form:

• La porta si apre
• Il tornello si aprisse

So in this sentence, si is the standard and idiomatic form.

Non funzionava is in the imperfetto because it describes an ongoing situation or state in the past:

• the card wasn’t working
• it gives the background reason the hoped-for action did not happen

This is very natural in Italian. The imperfect often describes:

• background
• repeated situations
• ongoing states
• circumstances

Compare:

• la tessera non funzionava = the card wasn’t working / the card would not work
• la tessera non ha funzionato = the card didn’t work in a more completed, event-like sense

Both can be possible in some contexts, but non funzionava fits well if you are describing what the situation was at that moment.

Here invece means something like:

• instead
• however
• but instead

It introduces a contrast:

• I was hoping the turnstile would open immediately,
• instead, the card wasn’t working

So it marks the difference between expectation and reality.

Other examples:

• Pensavo fosse facile, invece era difficile. = I thought it was easy, but it was difficult instead.
• Volevo uscire, invece ha iniziato a piovere. = I wanted to go out, but then it started raining.

Not always. Tessera can mean different kinds of cards depending on context, such as:

• a pass
• a membership card
• a swipe card
• a transit card
• a badge
• sometimes a ticket-card type item

In this sentence, since we are talking about a turnstile, la tessera is probably:

• a travel card
• an access card
• a swipe card / pass

So card is a good general translation here, but the exact type depends on the situation.

Subito means immediately or right away.

Its position here is very natural:

• che il tornello si aprisse subito

It modifies the action si aprisse, meaning:

• that the turnstile would open immediately

Italian word order is fairly flexible, but this placement is standard and smooth. You could sometimes move adverbs around for emphasis, but si aprisse subito is the most neutral phrasing.

Italian uses definite articles more often than English does.

So:

• il tornello = the turnstile
• la tessera = the card

Even when English might sometimes omit an article in a more general phrasing, Italian often keeps it.

Also, the nouns have grammatical gender:

• tornello is masculine singular, so il tornello
• tessera is feminine singular, so la tessera

Often yes, but subito is very common and can sound slightly more everyday than immediatamente.

Both can mean:

• immediately
• right away

Compare:

• si aprisse subito = would open right away / immediately
• si aprisse immediatamente = also correct, but a bit more formal or emphatic in some contexts

So subito is very natural in ordinary speech.

Not really. A more natural English translation would be:

• I was hoping the turnstile would open right away, but the card wasn’t working.

That is because si aprisse after speravo che expresses something hoped for, not something presented as an actual fact.

So although the Italian form is a past subjunctive, the best English equivalent here is usually:

• would open

That is why:

• speravo che... si aprisse often becomes
• I was hoping that... would open

The sentence has two main parts:

1. Speravo che il tornello si aprisse subito

   • Speravo = I was hoping
   • che = that
   • il tornello si aprisse = the turnstile would open
   • subito = right away

2. invece la tessera non funzionava

   • invece = instead / however
   • la tessera = the card
   • non funzionava = wasn’t working

So the structure is:

• expectation: I was hoping...
• contrast/reality: instead...

This is a very common pattern in Italian storytelling and everyday narration.