Word
Non credevamo che un alieno vivesse in questa galassia.
Meaning
We did not believe that an alien lived in this galaxy.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Non credevamo che un alieno vivesse in questa galassia.
un
a / an (masculine)
questa
this (feminine)
non
not
in
in / made of (material)
Questions & Answers about Non credevamo che un alieno vivesse in questa galassia.
Why do we use the imperfect subjunctive (vivesse) here instead of the present subjunctive (viva)?
Because the main verb (credevamo) is in a past tense (the imperfect). When the main clause expresses a trigger for the subjunctive in a past tense, the dependent clause must use a past subjunctive form to match the timeline.
How is vivesse formed?
It comes from the regular verb vivere (to live). To form the imperfect subjunctive of regular -ere verbs, you drop the -ere ending to get the stem viv-, and then add the third-person singular ending: -esse.
Why does credevamo require the subjunctive mood in the second part of the sentence?
Verbs of thinking, believing, and supposing (like credere and pensare) introduce subjectivity, doubt, or personal opinion rather than objective facts. In Italian, these almost always require the subjunctive mood in the following che clause.
If the sentence started with a present tense verb (We don't believe that...), would we still use vivesse?
No. If the main verb were the present tense Non crediamo, the subjunctive verb in the che clause would shift to the present subjunctive to match the present timeline: Non crediamo che un alieno viva in questa galassia.