Breakdown of Per quanto tu aggiorni il software, il bug rimane.
tu
you (singular)
aggiornare
to update
rimanere
to remain, to stay behind
il software
the software
Questions & Answers about Per quanto tu aggiorni il software, il bug rimane.
Why is aggiorni in the subjunctive mood here?
The phrase per quanto is acting as a concessive conjunction meaning "no matter how much" or "however much." When used to concede a point like this, it requires the subjunctive. Since the result (rimane) is in the present tense, we use the present subjunctive (aggiorni).
Since Italian usually drops subject pronouns, why is tu explicitly included before aggiorni?
For regular verbs in the present subjunctive, the io, tu, and lui/lei forms are identical. Including tu removes any ambiguity, making it instantly clear that "you" are the one updating the software, rather than "I" or "he/she".
Does per quanto always trigger the subjunctive?
Not always! When per quanto means "no matter how much" or "even though," it triggers the subjunctive. However, when it means "as far as" (such as in the common phrase per quanto ne so meaning "as far as I know"), it takes the indicative.
How do plurals work for English loanwords like software and bug in Italian?