When talking about hypothetical situations in Italian, you typically start the condition with se (if) followed by the subjunctive. However, for a more dramatic, elegant, or literary tone, you can drop the se entirely.
This is exactly like the English shift from "If I had known" to "Had I known," or "If it were up to me" to "Were it up to me."
To do this in Italian, simply begin the clause directly with the verb in the imperfect or pluperfect subjunctive. If you need to specify a subject, it inverts and comes after the verb.
Were It Up To Me
One of the most common everyday uses of this structure is the fixed expression fosse per me (were it up to me), using the imperfect subjunctive of essere.
| Were it up to me, I would never play chess with him. | Fosse per me, non giocherei mai a scacchi con lui. |
Missed Opportunities in the Past
This omission of se is incredibly popular when analyzing past events, like alternate strategies in a high-stakes game. To express "Had I..." or "Had he...", start the sentence with the pluperfect subjunctive (trapassato congiuntivo).
| Had I looked at the chessboard, I would have found the decisive move. | Avessi guardato la scacchiera, avrei trovato la mossa decisiva. |
You can use this with any subject. Notice how dropping the se gives the sentence a slightly more formal, reflective tone, perfect for analyzing tactical decisions.
| Had he moved the bishop, his counterattack would have been brilliant. | Avesse mosso l'alfiere, il suo contrattacco sarebbe stato brillante. |
| Had he maintained his concentration, he would have made a nice counterattack. | Avesse mantenuto la concentrazione, avrebbe fatto un bel contrattacco. |
Had It Been...
You can also use this structure with the past forms of essere to say "Had it been...". For example, pushing fosse per me into the past becomes fosse stato per me (had it been up to me).
| Had it been up to me, I would not have chosen a risky strategy like Luca's. | Fosse stato per me, non avrei scelto una strategia azzardata come quella di Luca. |
When using essere in these compound tenses, remember that the past participle (stato/stata) must agree in gender and number with the subject of the clause.
| Had it been a chess match, that risky choice would have been fatal. | Fosse stata una partita di scacchi, quella scelta azzardata sarebbe stata fatale. |