Use of subjunctive with negative statements

Hello,

I am just starting to use the subjunctive and understand the words that trigger it like ‘Credo che’ ‘Sembra che’ and so on.

The other day I was talking with AI and said “Questa non era una buona idea”. My statement was corrected to “Questa non fosse una buona idea”.

Do we use subjunctive with negative statements like those above? Or do we only use it when we add a “word of uncertainty” like "Penso che questa ..

Thank you for your help.

Hi David,

Great question, you're right to connect the subjunctive with uncertainty, opinion, or subjectivity. Let's break it down:

✅ When to use the subjunctive

The subjunctive (congiuntivo) is used when a sentence expresses:

Doubt or uncertainty → Non credo che sia vero.

Emotion or opinion → Penso che sia una buona idea.

Impersonal expressions → È importante che tu venga.

Conjunctions like benché, sebbene, affinché, purché, prima che, etc.

❌ When the subjunctive is not needed

In a sentence like:

Questa non era una buona idea.
(This wasn’t a good idea.)

You’re simply stating a fact or opinion, there’s no dependent clause introduced by "che", and no expression of uncertainty that would require the subjunctive.

So the original sentence is correct, and you do not need the subjunctive here.

🔄 When fosse might appear

The subjunctive "fosse" would only come in if the sentence were something like:

Non sembrava che questa fosse una buona idea.
(It didn’t seem like this was a good idea.)

Here, the trigger is "sembrare che", which introduces a dependent clause that does require the subjunctive.

The subjunctive is used within dependent clauses introduced by expressions of doubt, opinion, or uncertainty, not simply because a sentence is negative.

Hope that helps clarify things! Let me know if you'd like more examples or practice tips. 😊

A presto,
Enxhi – Rocket Italian Tutor