Breakdown of Non credo che il ladro lasci una traccia.
una
a / an (feminine)
non
not
lasciare
to leave (an object)
credere
to believe
il ladro
the thief
che
that (conjunction introducing a clause)
la traccia
the trace
Questions & Answers about Non credo che il ladro lasci una traccia.
Why is the verb lasci used instead of the regular present tense lascia?
The phrase credo che (I believe that) expresses an opinion. In Italian, verbs of thinking, believing, and doubting trigger the subjunctive mood in the following clause. Therefore, we use lasci, which is the present subjunctive of lasciare for the third person (he/she/it).
The English translation says 'will leave', but isn't lasci in the present tense?
Yes, it is the present subjunctive! Italian does not have a specific future subjunctive tense. The present subjunctive is frequently used to talk about future events in clauses that require the subjunctive. Context tells us whether it means 'leaves' or 'will leave'.
Lasciare is an -are verb. Why does its subjunctive form end in -i instead of -a?
Regular -are verbs take an -i ending for the singular forms (io, tu, lui/lei) of the present subjunctive. This is the exact opposite of the regular present indicative, where -are verbs usually take an -a for the lui/lei form.
Since the stem of lasciare already ends in 'i', why doesn't the subjunctive form have a double 'i' like lascii?
When forming the present subjunctive for verbs ending in -iare, Italian spelling rules drop the extra 'i' to avoid having two of them next to each other. So we write lasci instead of lascii.
Learn Non credo che il ladro lasci una traccia 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