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Voglio che tu aiuti questo gatto abbandonato.

Voglio che tu aiuti questo gatto abbandonato.
I want you to help this abandoned cat.
From Lesson 185:Subjunctive with desires (voglio che…)·Italian

Questions & Answers about Voglio che tu aiuti questo gatto abbandonato.

Why does this sentence use the subjunctive mood?
The verb volere (to want) expresses a strong desire or volition. When you want someone else to do something, you use a construction with che (that) followed by the subjunctive. Therefore, voglio che forces the verb aiutare into the subjunctive form aiuti.
We usually drop subject pronouns in Italian. Why is tu included here?
In the present subjunctive, the io, tu, and lui/lei forms of regular verbs all share the exact same ending. For aiutare, they are all aiuti. Italians often add the subject pronoun after che to prevent any confusion about who is supposed to do the helping.
If aiuti is the subjunctive form, why does it look exactly like the normal present tense for tu?
For regular -are verbs like aiutare, the present subjunctive endings for the singular forms are all -i. By coincidence, this makes the tu form of the subjunctive (che tu aiuti) look identical to the regular present indicative (tu aiuti).
Could I just use an infinitive and say Voglio te aiutare?
No, that doesn't work in Italian. If the person who wants (I) is different from the person doing the action (you), you must split the sentence with che and use the subjunctive. You only use the infinitive (like voglio aiutare) if you are both the one wanting and the one helping.

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