Verbs like fare (to do/make), dire (to say/tell), and bere (to drink) look irregular in the imperfect subjunctive, but they follow a predictable pattern.
They build their forms using stems from their original Latin infinitives (facere, dicere, bibere). To conjugate them, just add the standard -ere imperfect subjunctive endings to these historical stems (fac-, dic-, bev-).
| Pronoun | Fare | Dire | Bere |
|---|---|---|---|
| io | facessi | dicessi | bevessi |
| tu | facessi | dicessi | bevessi |
| lui / lei | facesse | dicesse | bevesse |
| noi | facessimo | dicessimo | bevessimo |
| voi | faceste | diceste | beveste |
| loro | facessero | dicessero | bevessero |
Hypothetical "If" Clauses
When discussing financial advice or investment strategies, you will often use these verbs right after se (if) to propose hypothetical, imaginary, or unlikely scenarios.
| If the consultant did his job, I would save a lot of money. | Se il consulente facesse il suo lavoro, risparmierei molti soldi. |
| If I told you which stocks to evaluate, would you buy them? | Se io ti dicessi quali titoli valutare, li compreresti? |
| If the consultant drank less, he would evaluate the rates better. | Se il consulente bevesse meno, valuterebbe meglio i tassi. |
Past Hopes and Beliefs
Just like regular verbs, you must use the imperfect subjunctive in a dependent clause when the main clause features a past-tense expression of hope, desire, or belief (such as volevo che or pensavo che).
| I wanted the consultant to tell me how to invest my income. | Volevo che il consulente mi dicesse come investire il mio reddito. |
| Nobody thought that I was making debts to invest. | Nessuno pensava che io facessi debiti per investire. |
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