Learn Italian: Spero che il dramma vada bene. - I hope that the drama goes well.

Spero che il dramma vada bene.

I hope that the drama goes well.

Breakdown of Spero che il dramma vada bene.

bene

well

andare

to go / to be fine / to work out

sperare

to hope

che

that (conjunction introducing a clause)

Questions & Answers about Spero che il dramma vada bene.

Why is the verb vada used here instead of the regular present tense va?

The verb spero (I hope) expresses a wish, emotion, or uncertainty. In Italian, this triggers the following verb to be in the subjunctive mood. vada is the highly irregular present subjunctive form of andare (to go) for the third person singular.

Is vada the subjunctive form for io and tu as well?

Yes! In the present subjunctive, the forms for io, tu, and lui/lei are always identical. For andare, all three are vada. Because they look exactly the same, Italians often include the subject pronoun if it isn't obvious, though here the noun il dramma makes the subject completely clear.

Why is it il dramma? Doesn't the -a ending usually mean a word is feminine?

Most Italian words ending in -a are feminine, but dramma is a classic exception. It comes from ancient Greek, and many Greek-origin words ending in -ma are actually masculine. You have likely seen this rule before with words like il problema and il sistema.

Does andare bene translate exactly to 'goes well' in English?

Yes, andare bene is used exactly like 'to go well' in English. You can use it for events or performances succeeding, for situations like taking an exam, or even just to say that a plan is acceptable and fine with you.