Breakdown of Penso che la signora si sia lamentata perché hanno ignorato il problema.
avere
to have
il problema
problem
perché
because, why
la signora
lady, madam, Mrs.
pensare
to think
che
that (conjunction introducing a clause)
lamentarsi
to complain
ignorare
to ignore
Questions & Answers about Penso che la signora si sia lamentata perché hanno ignorato il problema.
Why do we use the past subjunctive (si sia lamentata) instead of the present subjunctive?
The main verb Penso (I think) is in the present tense, but the complaining happened in the past. To show that an action happened before a present-tense main clause, we use the past subjunctive.
Why does this verb use sia as the helper verb and end in -a (lamentata)?
The infinitive is lamentarsi (to complain). Because it is a reflexive verb, it must use essere as its helper verb. Since the subject is la signora (feminine singular), we use the subjunctive form of essere (sia) and the past participle must match her gender and number, changing to -a.
Where does the reflexive pronoun (si) go when using the past subjunctive?
Just like in the regular past tense, the reflexive pronoun goes immediately before the conjugated helper verb. Here, si goes right before the subjunctive helper sia.
Why is hanno ignorato in the normal past tense rather than the subjunctive?
The subjunctive is triggered by Penso che (I think that), which governs the first action (si sia lamentata). The word perché (because) introduces a new clause stating the factual reason for her complaint. Since this part is stated as a fact rather than an opinion, it takes the regular past tense.
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