La concordanza dei tempi all'indicativo
La concordanza dei tempi all'indicativo means “Lining up the indicative tenses of a subordinate clause with the main verb”. Just like the subjunctive has a sequence of tenses, so does the indicative — it decides which tense a subordinate clause takes relative to the main verb. Formation: principale al passato → subordinata: contemporaneità = imperfetto · anteriorità = trapassato prossimo · posteriorità = condizionale passato — principale al presente → presente / passato prossimo / futuro
Lining up the indicative tenses of a subordinate clause with the main verb
B2Formation
principale al passato → subordinata: contemporaneità = imperfetto · anteriorità = trapassato prossimo · posteriorità = condizionale passato — principale al presente → presente / passato prossimo / futuro
Explanation
Just like the subjunctive has a sequence of tenses, so does the indicative — it decides which tense a subordinate clause takes relative to the main verb. When the main verb is in the present, the subordinate simply matches reality: so che è partito (I know he left), so che parte (…is leaving), so che partirà (…will leave). The interesting case is a past main verb, where three relations map to three tenses: contemporaneity → imperfetto (sapevo che stava male = I knew he was ill), anteriority → trapassato prossimo (sapevo che era partito = I knew he had left), and posteriority → condizionale passato (mi promise che sarebbe tornato = he promised he would come back). That last one — the future-in-the-past expressed by the past conditional — is the same distinctive point you meet in reported speech, and the thing Spanish/French speakers get wrong.
Examples
Note
The rule of thumb after a past main verb: same time → imperfetto, earlier → trapassato, later → condizionale passato (not the present conditional!). This works together with the subjunctive sequence (itg054): pick indicative or subjunctive first, then apply the same three-way timing logic.
FAQ
La concordanza dei tempi all'indicativo — what does it mean and how is it used?
Lining up the indicative tenses of a subordinate clause with the main verb. Just like the subjunctive has a sequence of tenses, so does the indicative — it decides which tense a subordinate clause takes relative to the main verb. When the main verb is in the present, the subordinate simply matches reality: so che è partito (I know he left), so che parte (…is leaving), so che partirà (…will leave). The interesting case is a past main verb, where three relations map to three tenses: contemporaneity → imperfetto (sapevo che stava male = I knew he was ill), anteriority → trapassato prossimo (sapevo che era partito = I knew he had left), and posteriority → condizionale passato (mi promise che sarebbe tornato = he promised he would come back). That last one — the future-in-the-past expressed by the past conditional — is the same distinctive point you meet in reported speech, and the thing Spanish/French speakers get wrong.
La concordanza dei tempi all'indicativo — how do you form it?
principale al passato → subordinata: contemporaneità = imperfetto · anteriorità = trapassato prossimo · posteriorità = condizionale passato — principale al presente → presente / passato prossimo / futuro
La concordanza dei tempi all'indicativo — any usage notes?
The rule of thumb after a past main verb: same time → imperfetto, earlier → trapassato, later → condizionale passato (not the present conditional!). This works together with the subjunctive sequence (itg054): pick indicative or subjunctive first, then apply the same three-way timing logic.