Dropping "Che"
In English, we often drop the word "that" when connecting two ideas (e.g., "I think that he is innocent" becomes "I think he is innocent").
In Italian, the conjunction che is traditionally required to introduce a subordinate clause. However, in modern and spoken Italian, it is very common to omit che before a subjunctive clause when following verbs of believing, hoping, or fearing.
Let's look at this with verbs like credere (to believe/think) and augurarsi (to hope/wish):
| I think he is innocent. | Credo sia innocente. |
| I hope the crisis is over. | Mi auguro la crisi sia finita. |
More Verbs of Expectation and Fear
This optional omission of che applies to a variety of verbs that trigger the subjunctive, including temere (to fear), confidare (to trust), and ritenere (to believe/consider).
| I fear they have too many expectations. | Temo abbiano troppe aspettative. |
| We trust the prediction is exact. | Confidiamo il pronostico sia esatto. |
| The judge believes the man is innocent. | Il giudice ritiene l'uomo sia innocente. |
When to Keep "Che"
While dropping che is common directly after verbs, we generally keep it when the subordinate clause is introduced by a noun (like il presentimento, meaning "premonition") or an adjective (like speranzoso, meaning "hopeful").
| I have a premonition that the expectations are too high. | Ho il presentimento che le aspettative siano troppo alte. |
| I am hopeful that everything goes well. | Sono speranzoso che vada tutto bene. |