Learn Italian: Temo che la situazione sia più ingannevole e insidiosa di quanto non si creda. - I fear that the situation is more deceptive and insidious than one believes.

Temo che la situazione sia più ingannevole e insidiosa di quanto non si creda.

I fear that the situation is more deceptive and insidious than one believes.

Breakdown of Temo che la situazione sia più ingannevole e insidiosa di quanto non si creda.

more / anymore (with 'non')

Questions & Answers about Temo che la situazione sia più ingannevole e insidiosa di quanto non si creda.

Why is there a non before si creda if the English translation isn't negative?

This is the pleonastic non (an extra word that doesn't make the sentence negative). In Italian, when forming a comparative clause with più... di quanto (more... than), it is very common to insert non before the conjugated verb in the second part of the comparison. It emphasizes the contrast but doesn't change the English meaning.

Why is the verb creda in the subjunctive here?

The structure di quanto (than) triggers the subjunctive when it introduces a new conjugated verb in a comparative clause. It reflects the abstract or subjective nature of the comparison, which is why we see the subjunctive creda rather than the indicative crede.

How does si creda work to mean "one believes"?

This is the impersonal si construction. By putting si before the third-person singular verb creda, it creates a general subject meaning "one", "people", or "they" in a general sense. So di quanto non si creda means "than people generally believe."

Just as a refresher, what triggers the subjunctive sia in the first part of the sentence?