Opinions and subjunctive?

Question

Sometimes I hear people say, Penso che è in ritardo. and Penso che sia in ritardo as well. I know I should use the subjunctive after verbs that state an opinion, my grammar book says so, but are both colloquially accepted and equally correct?

Answer 1

Hi,

as you say after verbs that state an opinion, is correct to use the subjunctive. The use of the indicative is not grammatically correct. Colloquially they are both accepted (in most freindly conversations the incorrect use of the indicative would be hardly noticed) but if one is giving a formal speech or is writing is correct to use the subjunctive.

Please notice that the indicative (and not the subjunctive) is used after adjectives that express certainty like "sono sicuro, "sono convinto", with verbs that express a declaration like: confermare, promettere, sostenere, spiegare and verbs that express a perception like, scoprire, sentire, vedere, intuire.