I friend of mine just purchased a boat. The manufacturer's name is Tremolino. Which is also the name of a book by Joesph Conrad. WordReference.com defines tremolino as the following: 3rd Person plural present subjunctive of the verb tremolare = to shake or quiver.

I am not exactly sure what a "subjuntive" is. How would this form of temolare be used?

I'd read the manufacturer's name as tremolIno and the verb is pronounced trEmolino.
It's hard to find a frase where "tremolino" is used as "tremolare" is not very widely used... personally I would only use it talking about "shaky puddings".

che io trmoli,
che tu tremoli
che egli tremoli
che noi tremoliamo
che voi tremoliate
che essi tremolino

It would be a 3rd plural of the imperative.

if it was 3rd plural present it would have been

Io trmolo
tu tremoli
egi tremola
noi tremoliamo
voi tremolate
essi tremolano

tremolino could be translate as = something or someone that is a bit shaky

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of the imperative.

Don't you mean 'subjunctive' (congiuntivo)? (imperative = imperativo)

I'm sure the verb isn't much used, but we musicians use its gerund (tremolando) lots!

And as for when you'd use the subjunctive... how long have you got? Just one example: if you wanted (why?!) to say 'They might be shaking', then that would be 'È possibile che tremolino'.

Jonathan

The subjunctive isn't used much in English, but it's much more common in Italian. I think it often tends to be a stumbling block for English speakers trying to learn Italian (or French for that matter).

That advanced CD set by Michel Thomas that I've just finished (see the topic on CDs of verb conjugations) has an excellent set of lessons on the subjunctive, that actually make it comprehensible for English speakers.

One thing he explains, for example, is that in English you generally say, "I want you to do something," but in Italian, you have to say, "I want that you do something," which is subjunctive. He also draws a connection between the imperative and subjunctive, showing that they are related, even though different tenses, as Jonathan said.

The most common use of subjunctive in English is with "if" -- for example, "If I were rich ... " However, in spoken English you often hear, "If I was rich," so our ears really aren't trained for the subjunctive.

- Roz

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our ears really aren't trained for the subjunctive

My ears LOVE the subjunctive, and every time they hear an indicative in its place, they shudder a little. As you might imagine, they do a lot of shuddering.

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'They might be shaking', then that would be 'È possibile che tremolino'.

Good one Jonathan! The problem is that normal people (not musicians or pastry chefs specialized in shaky puddings) would rather say: è possibile che tremino (trEmino)

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they do a lot of shuddering.

Molto tremolando? (That's probably horrible Italian, but I couldn't resist!)

- Roz

If I were to check it, I would probably find it correct.

Marian,

Che io tremoli= Imperativo.

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they do a lot of shuddering.

Molto tremolando? (That's probably horrible Italian, but I couldn't resist!)

gli capita molto spesso di tremolare

or

tremolano molto spesso

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The subjunctive isn't used much in English, but it's much more common in Italian. I think it often tends to be a stumbling block for English speakers trying to learn Italian (or French for that matter).

I don't agree that the subjunctive is not used much in English - it's just that most subjunctive tenses in English are the same as other English tenses.With the present tense of regular verbs it's only the 3rd person singular which is different - it loses the final "s"

eg
6 months ago I had enough money to buy a car, but now it has all gone ("had" here is past tense of "to have")

If I had enough money, I would buy a new car ("had" here is imperfect subjunctive of "to have" but identical in form to the past in the previous sentence. Clearly it does not have a past meaning in sentence two).

The present subjunctive in English is often replaced by the normal present. It seems to me that the Americans have preserved the use of the present subjunctive more than the English themselves.
Here are some examples of the present subjunctive in English:

There will be a meeting tomorrow - It is of the utmost importance (that) he be there.
I insist that she come to the lecture.(a lot of English people say comes and it seems to be acceptable).

When in english people say "I insist that you come/they come" they are using the present subjunctive but they don't realise it because it is identical in form to the present

I think that if you learn where the subjunctive is being used in your own language, you are more likely to understand its use in Italian.

A lot (but not all) of the uses of the subjunctive correspond in English and Italian. One final thought: not all italians use the subjunctive when strictly speaking it is necessary.

You may be confusing the English conditional (if.....[then]) with the English subjunctive.

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You may be confusing the English conditional (if.....[then]) with the English subjunctive.

No,No!
In the sentence I used before:
If I had enough money, I would buy a new car
"I had" is subjunctive and "I would/should buy" is conditional, the condition being that you had enough money.

If I were to have enough money, I would buy a first class ticket to Rome.

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If I were to have enough money, I would buy a first class ticket to Rome.

What kind of English is that??? American?

Surely "if I had enough money, I would buy a first class ticket to Rome" is much closer to modern English usage, and "had" is clearly not a past tense here.

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I don't agree that the subjunctive is not used much in English - it's just that most subjunctive tenses in English are the same as other English tenses.

Okay, you are right, but since it is almost always the same, most people aren't aware they are using the subjunctive even if technically they are. Since they don't have to learn anything different for correct usage, except in a very few cases, most people don't learn or remember those.

I went to school back when they actually taught English grammar, and I don't recall the subjunctive being more than a passing mention -- although it was drummed into me to say "If I were ...". Nowadays I would be surprised if more than a tiny fraction of students learn about the subjunctive, at least in the US. So for Americans it's kind of a culture shock to have to add it to the list of tenses you need to learn in Italian.

- Roz

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but since it is almost always the same, most people aren't aware they are using the subjunctive even if technically they are. Since they don't have to learn anything different for correct usage, except in a very few cases, most people don't learn or remember those.

That's exactly my point. If they were aware (subjunctive if you are trained to think about it, not a past tense) - and they could make themselves aware - then they would be more likely to use the correct tense in italian.

It's what is going on in your head that's important. When an Italian says "se avessi...." (if I had...) then he/she is thinking in their head "but I don't have")

When an English person says "If I had....." then he/she should be encouraged to think "but I don't have" and then they might get it right and use the subjunctive in Italian.

"If I had... here" is not a past tense.

We've gone far afield from the original topic here, but another "English problem" that Michel Thomas talks about a lot is the word "could." When you want to translate "I could" into Italian, you need to know whether you mean "I was able" (potevo or ho potuto) or "I would be able" (potrei).

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I am not exactly sure what a "subjunctive" is

The above is a quote from the first post which started this topic.
How can you possibly say we are "off topic"?
Anyway, surely that's what makes posts interesting - the fact that one thing leads to another according to what interests the contributors?
Isn't that what this forum is supposed to be about?

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When you want to translate "I could" into Italian, you need to know whether you mean "I was able" (potevo or ho potuto) or "I would be able" (potrei).

Yes this is another example of how important it is to know what is going on in your head when you say "I could" and what you really mean - not just the words "I could"

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When you want to translate "I could" into Italian, you need to know whether you mean "I was able" (potevo or ho potuto) or "I would be able" (potrei).

I just thought of another "I could" in English which is translated by the imperfect subjunctive in italian

se potessi ti aiuterei (If I could I would help you/if I were able (to) I would help you)