Italian grammar
Come se + congiuntivo trapassato; neanche / manco + congiuntivo imperfetto (protesta)
Compare with an unreal past using come se, and protest with neanche / manco + congiuntivo.
From the scene Come se il tempo non fosse passato (As if no time had passed)
In short
Come se + congiuntivo trapassato for an unreal past. Neanche / manco + congiuntivo imperfetto protests.
Your turn
Which one goes with as if sixty years hadn't gone by?
Options: come se non fossero passati sessant'anni · come se ci fossimo viste ieri · neanche aveste vent'anni!
Show answer
as if sixty years hadn't gone by → come se non fossero passati sessant'anni
How it works
You know come se + congiuntivo imperfetto (as if, now). For an unreal past, use come se + congiuntivo trapassato: come se ci fossimo viste ieri.
Your turn
Pick the word that fits the line.
Parliamo come se ci (blank) viste proprio ieri.
Options: fossimo · siamo · saremmo
Show answer
Parliamo come se ci fossimo viste proprio ieri.
We talk as if we'd seen each other only yesterday.
Good to know
Neanche (or, more colloquially, manco) + congiuntivo imperfetto, with no se, is a spoken protest meaning "anyone would think…": neanche aveste vent'anni!
as if we'd seen each other yesterday come se ci fossimo viste ieri
as if sixty years hadn't gone by come se non fossero passati sessant'anni
Your turn
What goes with come se non fossero passati sessant'anni?
Options: as if we'd seen each other yesterday · anyone would think you were twenty! · as if sixty years hadn't gone by
Show answer
come se non fossero passati sessant'anni → as if sixty years hadn't gone by
anyone would think you were twenty! neanche aveste vent'anni!
Javi
A far rumba? Neanche aveste vent'anni!
Partying? Anyone would think you were twenty!
Your turn
What fills the gap?
A far rumba? (blank)!
Options: Come se non fossero passati sessant'anni · Neanche aveste vent'anni · Come se ci fossimo viste ieri
Show answer
Javi
A far rumba? Neanche aveste vent'anni!
Partying? Anyone would think you were twenty!
she's not a little girl! manco fosse una ragazzina!
Javi
E la nonna si è messa i tacchi! Manco fosse una ragazzina!
And Grandma's put on heels! She's not a little girl!
Your turn
What fills the gap?
E la nonna si è messa i tacchi! (blank)!
Options: Come se non fossero passati sessant'anni · Manco fosse una ragazzina · Come se ci fossimo viste ieri
Show answer
Javi
E la nonna si è messa i tacchi! Manco fosse una ragazzina!
And Grandma's put on heels! She's not a little girl!
you're not my father! manco fossi mio padre!
Elena
Quando ci pare. Manco fossi mio padre!
When we feel like it. Anyone would think you were my father!
Your turn
What fills the gap?
Quando ci pare. (blank)!
Options: Come se ci fossimo viste ieri · Come se non fossero passati sessant'anni · Manco fossi mio padre
Show answer
Elena
Quando ci pare. Manco fossi mio padre!
When we feel like it. Anyone would think you were my father!
Common mistake
Not avete or abbiate here. Voi (Elena and the grandmother).
A far rumba? Neanche aveste vent'anni!
Partying? Anyone would think you were twenty!
Practise it in the story
Meet this rule inside a short animated scene. Answer as it plays, then say the lines yourself.
Practise free in the appSee all forms
| as if we'd seen each other yesterday | come se ci fossimo viste ieri |
|---|---|
| as if sixty years hadn't gone by | come se non fossero passati sessant'anni |
| anyone would think you were twenty! | neanche aveste vent'anni! |
| she's not a little girl! | manco fosse una ragazzina! |
| you're not my father! | manco fossi mio padre! |
More lines from the story
- ElenaParliamo come se ci fossimo viste proprio ieri.We talk as if we'd seen each other only yesterday.
- ElenaRosario e io andiamo a far rumba, come dicono qui.Rosario and I are going out partying, as they say here.
- JaviMa la nonna non esce la sera da vent'anni.But Grandma hasn't gone out at night for twenty years.