Word
Immagini che loro abbiano un segreto?
Meaning
Do you imagine that they have a secret?
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Immagini che loro abbiano un segreto?
un
a / an (masculine)
loro
they
avere
to have
il segreto
the secret
Questions & Answers about Immagini che loro abbiano un segreto?
Why do we use abbiano instead of hanno?
The verb immaginare (to imagine) expresses a thought, belief, or opinion. When you have a verb like this followed by che (that) and a new subject, it triggers the subjunctive mood for the second verb. Therefore, we must use the subjunctive abbiano instead of the regular present tense hanno.
Is the first verb, immagini, also in the subjunctive?
No, immagini is in the normal present tense (indicative) for the tu form. In this type of sentence, the main verb (the one doing the imagining, thinking, or doubting) stays in the normal tense. It acts as the trigger that forces the verb after che into the subjunctive.
Since abbiano can only be the 'they' form, why do we need the pronoun loro here?
What would happen if the subjects were the same, like 'Do you imagine that you have a secret?'
When the subject of the first verb and the second verb are the same person, you don't use che and the subjunctive. Instead, you drop che and use di followed by the infinitive. It would become: Immagini di avere un segreto?