Learn Italian: Dubito che l'ispettore risolva il mistero presto. - I doubt that the inspector will solve the mystery soon.

Dubito che l'ispettore risolva il mistero presto.

I doubt that the inspector will solve the mystery soon.

Breakdown of Dubito che l'ispettore risolva il mistero presto.

presto

early / soon / quickly, hurry

l'ispettore

the inspector

che

that (conjunction introducing a clause)

risolvere

to resolve

Questions & Answers about Dubito che l'ispettore risolva il mistero presto.

Why is risolva used here instead of the normal present tense risolve?

The verb dubitare (to doubt) expresses uncertainty. Verbs of doubt, opinion, and belief followed by che are classic triggers that require the verb in the second part of the sentence to be in the subjunctive mood. Here, risolva is the present subjunctive form of risolvere.

The English translation says 'will solve', so why doesn't Italian use the future tense here?

Italian doesn't have a future subjunctive tense. When expressing doubt about something happening in the near future, you generally just use the present subjunctive. The word presto (soon) already makes it clear that this is about the future.

How do I form the present subjunctive for an -ere verb like risolvere?

For regular -ere and -ire verbs, you drop the infinitive ending and add -a for the io, tu, and lui/lei/Lei forms. Since the singular forms are all identical (risolva), we often include the subject pronoun or, as in this sentence, a specific noun like l'ispettore to avoid confusion.

Could I put presto right after the verb instead of at the end of the sentence?