Following to a question that Gerry made in this thread:&

Following to a question that Gerry made in this thread: www.italymagazione.com/community/post/voglio-parlare-italiano-perfettamente ....

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Can you explain why you used the congiuntivo presente tense in your first sentence in Italian, "sono felice che tu sia.......".  I thought this tense was only used in hypothetical or uncertain situations.

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...I decided to dedicate a lesson to the Congiuntivo and how it is used in Italian.

Congiuntivo is used in secondary clauses when:

 - they're introduced by "che":

Mi ha detto che sarebbe venuto - He told me he would have come

E' impossibile che tutti i negozi siano chiusi! - Shops cannot be all closed!

- when the principal clause expresses feelings, doubt, uncertainty - see examples below:

Sono felice che tu sia qui - I'm happy you're here.

Credevo che il museo fosse più vicino - I thought that the museum was closer (than it actually is)

Non so se dovremmo andarci - I'm not sure if we should go there 

- they're introduced by linkers like:  sebbene, nonostante, anche se (although, even if) 

Andrei al concerto, anche se dovesse piovere - I would go to the concert, even if it rains.

Ho accettato la loro ordinazione, nonostante sia orario di chiusura - I've accepted their order, although we were about to close.

Periodo ipotetico - Hypothetic Clause 

There are three levels of hypothetic clauses, depending on their degree of uncertainty - the more they are related to past events or things unlikely to happen, the better we use subjective: 

Se piove non vengo - If it rains, I won't come 

Se dovesse piovere, non verrò - If it rained, I wouldn't come

Se avesse piovuto, non sarei venuta - If it had rained I wouldn't have come.

Using Congiuntivo in Italian

Ok, that was the rule, but now it would be better to have a look at daily conversations that may occur when talking with an Italian speaker - this is very likely to happen, since subjective is greatly used in Italian:

• Giving advices:

Dovresti insistere, se vuoi che vengano - You should make pressure, if you would like them to come.

• Making predictions. ATTENTION: even if the secondary clause is introduced by "se / if" we don't use subjective, because we are talking about future events. Compare the following examples:

Se i prezzi non scenderanno, la gente acquisterà sempre meno - If prices don't go down, people will buy lesser and lesser

Se la situazione rimanesse tale, non so come gli altri reagiranno - If things don't change, I don't know how they would react to that.

The former is making predictions while the latter expresses doubt.

• Expressing wishes:

I want you to come in Italy with me - Voglio che tu venga in Italia con me.

Now it's up to you! 

Compiti per casa

1. E' giusto che tu ____________ (andare) a teatro
2. E' normale che voi _______________ (dovere) pagare i biglietti
3. Non penso che lui ________ (avere) ragione
4. Sei sicuro che non ci __________ (essere) altri spettacoli il prossimo week-end?
5. Se tu  __________ (prenotare), saremmo sicuri di avere un posto a sedere

These links may be of help - concerning the tenses of italian subjective:

https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congiuntivo_presente

https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congiuntivo_imperfetto

https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congiuntivo_passato

https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congiuntivo_trapassato

Enjoy today's lesson - even if I must admit that Subjective is not such an amusing thing.. 

Waiting for the exercise to be done... Buon lavoro!