Learn Italian: Chiunque abbia fame è benvenuto, dovunque viva. - Whoever is hungry is welcome, wherever they live.

Chiunque abbia fame è benvenuto, dovunque viva.

Whoever is hungry is welcome, wherever they live.

Breakdown of Chiunque abbia fame è benvenuto, dovunque viva.

essere

to be

vivere

to live (life), to be alive

Questions & Answers about Chiunque abbia fame è benvenuto, dovunque viva.

Why is abbia in the subjunctive mood here instead of the normal indicative ha?

The word chiunque (whoever) introduces a hypothetical or unspecific person. In Italian, referring to this kind of indefinite subject requires the subjunctive mood, which is why we use abbia.

Does dovunque trigger the subjunctive for the exact same reason?

Yes! Just like chiunque refers to an unspecific person, dovunque (wherever) refers to an unspecific place. Because the location is indefinite, the verb that follows it must be in the subjunctive mood (viva).

Since whoever could refer to a group of people, why are the verbs and the adjective benvenuto singular?

In Italian, the pronoun chiunque is always grammatically singular. Even if you are talking to a crowd of hungry people, the verbs (abbia, è) and the adjective (benvenuto) must take the third-person singular form.

Why do we use a form of avere (to have) for being hungry?

This is a great reminder from earlier levels: in Italian, you do not use the verb to be for hunger, you have hunger. The phrase is avere fame. In this sentence, avere simply changes to its subjunctive form abbia because it follows chiunque.