Breakdown of Spero che lo squalo sparisca subito.
subito
immediately / right away
sparire
to disappear
sperare
to hope
che
that (conjunction introducing a clause)
lo squalo
the shark
Questions & Answers about Spero che lo squalo sparisca subito.
Why is sparisca in the subjunctive here?
The verb spero (I hope) expresses a wish or expectation. In Italian, verbs of hoping, wishing, or expressing emotion followed by che (that) require the verb in the second clause to be in the subjunctive mood.
How is the subjunctive form sparisca formed?
It comes from sparire (to disappear), which is a regular -ire verb that uses the -isc- insert. In the present subjunctive, you keep this insert for the singular forms. You take the root spar-, add -isc-, and then add the subjunctive ending -a for the third person, giving us sparisca.
Since sparisca ends in -a, how do we know who is disappearing?
In the present subjunctive, the singular forms (for I, you, and he/she/it) are exactly the same. They all end in -a for -ere and -ire verbs. Here, we know it refers to lo squalo (the shark) because it is clearly the subject of that clause. If it weren't obvious, we would add a subject pronoun to clarify.
Learn Spero che lo squalo sparisca subito and more in Italian
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free