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When debunking internet rumors or discussing bizarre claims, you will often use the phrase *il fatto che* (the fact that). In Italian, the verb mood in the clause that follows depends entirely on the point you are making.

### Objective Assertions

If you are simply confirming the reality of the fact—stating that it is evident, obvious, or undeniable—you use the **indicative** mood.

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Notice how *circola* and *è* are standard present indicative verbs because the main clause (*è ovvio*, *è innegabile*) establishes an objective certainty.

### Subjective Evaluations

However, if you are expressing an opinion, emotion, or personal judgment about the fact—saying that it is scandalous, sad, or serious—you must use the **subjunctive** mood.

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Here, the focus isn't just that the event is happening, but how you *feel* about it (*è scandaloso*). This subjective evaluation triggers the subjunctive (*creda* instead of *crede*).

Let's look at a few more examples where personal judgments require the subjunctive:

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As a general rule, look at the adjective in your main clause. If it expresses a cold, hard fact (*certo*, *evidente*, *innegabile*), use the indicative. If it expresses a reaction, emotion, or judgment (*scandaloso*, *grave*, *sorprendente*), use the subjunctive.

Fact vs. opinion clauses (il fatto che)

adjective

adjective/adverb

adverb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

preposition

pronoun

proper noun

sentence

verb

Subject pronouns and the verb to be (io sono)

Singular definite articles (il, la)

Singular demonstratives (questo, questa)

Basic verbal negation (non)

Yes/No questions

Coordinating conjunctions (e, ma, o)

Regular plurals and definite articles (-i, -e, i, le)

Plural verb to be (noi siamo, voi siete)

Plural demonstratives (questi, queste)

Nouns ending in -e

Special singular articles (lo, l')

The plural article (gli)

Special indefinite articles (uno, un')

Demonstrative adjectives (quello, quella)

Adjective endings (-o, -a, -i, -e)

Expressing quantity (molto, poco, tanto)

The verb to have (ho, hai, ha...)

There is / there are (c'è, ci sono)

The preposition of (di)

Singular possessives (il mio, la mia)

Numbers 1 to 10 (uno, due, tre...)

Numbers 11 to 20 (undici, dodici...)

Numbers 21 to 100 (trenta, quaranta...)

Idiomatic avere (avere fame, avere anni)

Plural possessive adjectives (i miei, le mie)

Possessives with family members (mio padre)

Formal address (dare del Lei)

Present tense of -are verbs (-o, -i, -a)

Question words (chi, cosa, dove)

Present tense of -ere verbs (-o, -i, -e)

Question words (quando, come, perché)

Question word agreement (quanto, quanta, quanti, quante)

Regular -ire verbs

Verbs with -isc- (capisco, capisci, capisce)

Pronouns after prepositions (me, te, lui)

The verb fare (faccio, fai, fa)

The verb andare (vado, vai, va)

The verb stare (sto, stai, sta)

The verb venire (vengo, vieni, viene)

The verb uscire (esco, esci, esce)

Location and destination (a, in)

Origin and movement (da)

Articulated prepositions with a (al, alla)

Articulated prepositions with in (nel, nella)

Articulated prepositions with di and da (del, dal)

Simple prepositions (con, per, su, tra)

Articulated prepositions with su (sul, sulla)

Months of the year

Telling time (sono le...)

Dates (il + number)

Ordinal numbers 1st to 10th (primo, secondo, terzo...)

The verb to want (volere)

The verb can (potere)

The verb must (dovere)

The verb to know (sapere)

Reflexive verbs (mi lavo, ti lavi)

Indirect object pronouns (gli, le, ci...)

Expressing preferences (mi piace)

Plural preferences (mi piacciono)

Comparatives (più... di, meno... di)

The passato prossimo with avere (ho parlato)

Irregular past participles (fatto, letto, preso)

The passato prossimo with essere (sono andato)

Reflexive verbs in the past (mi sono svegliato)

Time adverbs with the past tense (già, mai, ancora)

Third-person direct object pronouns (lo, la, li, le)

First and second-person direct object pronouns (mi, ti, ci, vi)

The four seasons

Prepositions of place (vicino a, davanti a)

Conversational words (beh, allora, davvero)

Indefinite adjectives for some (qualche, alcuni)

Indefinite adjectives for every and all (ogni, tutti)

Indefinite pronouns (qualcosa, qualcuno)

Noun suffixes (-ino, -one)

Adverbs of manner (-mente)

Comparisons of equality (così... come)

The relative superlative (il più)

The absolute superlative (-issimo)

Irregular comparatives (migliore, peggiore)

Present progressive (stare + -ando, -endo)

Imminent actions (stare per)

The locative pronoun (ci)

The partitive pronoun (ne)

Pronoun placement with modal verbs

Impersonal subjects (si)

Prepositions of time (da, per, tra, fra)

Past participle agreement with pronouns

Question	Answer
hoax	la bufala
to circulate	circolare
The fact that this hoax circulates online is obvious.	Il fatto che questa bufala circola online è ovvio.
scandalous	scandaloso
The fact that people believe a hoax is scandalous.	Il fatto che la gente creda a una bufala è scandaloso.
rumor (hearsay)	la diceria
undeniable	innegabile
The fact that the rumor is false is undeniable.	Il fatto che la diceria è falsa è innegabile.
conspiracy theorist	il complottista
The fact that the conspiracy theorist spreads the rumor is serious.	Il fatto che il complottista diffonda la diceria è grave.
to debunk	sfatare
The fact that we debunked the theory is certain.	Il fatto che abbiamo sfatato la teoria è certo.
reliability (of information, sources)	l'attendibilità
verifiable	verificabile
The fact that the reliability is not verifiable is sad.	Il fatto che l'attendibilità non sia verificabile è triste.
The fact that the conspiracy theorist has no proof is evident.	Il fatto che il complottista non ha prove è evidente.
The fact that these rumors are still circulating is surprising.	Il fatto che queste dicerie circolino ancora è sorprendente.
scientifically	scientificamente
What he claims is not scientifically verifiable.	Quello che afferma non è scientificamente verificabile.
I had to get angry to debunk this scandalous hoax.	Ho dovuto arrabbiarmi per sfatare questa bufala scandalosa.
I believe that the reliability of the news is scientifically verifiable.	Credo che l'attendibilità della notizia sia scientificamente verificabile.
The fact that the hoax circulates online is undeniable.	Il fatto che la bufala circola online è innegabile.
the murder	l'omicidio
The fact that the murder remains unsolved worries us.	Il fatto che l'omicidio resti irrisolto ci preoccupa.
The police are investigating a very strange murder.	La polizia indaga su un omicidio molto strano.
the matter, the issue	la questione
The fact that the matter is open does not help.	Il fatto che la questione sia aperta non aiuta.
Let us discuss this matter tomorrow at the office.	Discutiamo questa questione domani in ufficio.

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