Breakdown of È un mistero, ma immagino che lui nasconda la verità.
essere
to be
lui
he
un
a / an (masculine)
ma
but
la verità
the truth
nascondere
to hide
che
that (conjunction introducing a clause)
immaginare
to imagine
il mistero
the mystery
Questions & Answers about È un mistero, ma immagino che lui nasconda la verità.
Why is the verb nasconda used here instead of the normal present tense nasconde?
The phrase immagino che (I imagine that) expresses a personal thought or belief. In Italian, verbs of opinion, belief, and doubt trigger the subjunctive mood. nasconda is the present subjunctive form of nascondere (to hide).
We usually drop subject pronouns in Italian. Why is lui included in this sentence?
In the present subjunctive, the conjugations for I, you, and he/she are exactly the same (they all end in -a for this verb). If we just said immagino che nasconda la verità, it wouldn't be clear if I imagine that I am hiding it, you are hiding it, or he is hiding it. Adding lui prevents this confusion.
If nascondere is an -ere verb, why does its subjunctive form end in -a? Doesn't -a usually go with -are verbs?
It is actually the opposite in the subjunctive! Regular -ere and -ire verbs take an -a ending for singular subjects in the present subjunctive (like nasconda). Meanwhile, -are verbs switch to take an -i ending.
Could I use other opinion verbs like pensare or credere instead of immaginare here?
Absolutely. You could say penso che (I think that) or credo che (I believe that) in this exact sentence. Because they also express subjective opinions or beliefs, they also require the subjunctive verb nasconda.
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