Breakdown of Sarei uscito, ma pensavo che fosse tornata la pioggia.
ma
but
tornare
to return
uscire
to go out
pensare
to think
la pioggia
the rain
che
that (conjunction introducing a clause)
Questions & Answers about Sarei uscito, ma pensavo che fosse tornata la pioggia.
Why is fosse tornata used here instead of a normal past tense?
The verb pensare (to think) triggers the subjunctive because it expresses an opinion or uncertainty. Since the thinking happened in the past (pensavo), and the rain returning happened before that thought, we need the Pluperfect Subjunctive. It acts like the past of the past for subjunctive triggers.
Why is the helper verb fosse instead of avesse, and why does it end in -a (tornata)?
The verb tornare (to return) is a verb of motion, so it takes essere as its helper verb. In the Pluperfect Subjunctive, we use the imperfect subjunctive of essere (fosse). Because it uses essere, the past participle (tornata) must match the gender and number of the subject it refers to, which is the feminine singular la pioggia.
Why is la pioggia at the very end of the sentence?
Why is it sarei uscito and not avrei uscito?
The verb uscire (to go out) requires the helper verb essere in all compound tenses. To form the past conditional (I would have gone out), you must use the conditional form of essere (sarei) plus the past participle (uscito). If the speaker were female, this would be sarei uscita.
Learn Sarei uscito, ma pensavo che fosse tornata la pioggia and more in Italian
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free