Riuscire and Potere. The Difference.
In my experience as an Italian language teacher, students often struggle with the verb riuscire because of its widespread use in informal Italian. The reason is that the Italian verbs potere and riuscire are both frequently used in English with “can” and so,...
Nessuno and Niente (How to say Any, Anyone and Anything in Italian)
Nessuno/Nessuna/Nessun = (not…any) Nessuno can be used both as an indefinite adjective and as a pronoun . As an adjective, nessuno comes before a noun and is the translation of “any” in negative sentences in English. For example: Non ho nessun dubbio...
Perché, Perciò, Siccome: The Difference
Perché: why / because Unlike in English, perché is used in both a question and an answer in Italian. Perché hai chiamato il taxi? Perché ero in ritardo Why did you call a cab? Because I was late. Perché used to indicate the cause of something...
Volta, Tempo, Ora: The Difference
Ora, tempo, volta all express, in different ways, the idea of time in English. However, they can’t be used interchangeably, and there’s a stark difference between them. So, what’s the difference between these three words? Volta Volta (or volte, the...
Mentre and Durante: The Difference
Mentre Mentre is a conjugation that is always followed by a verb. In English, the equivalent of mentre is “while.” This word always requires the use of a verb conjugated in the present, past, or future. Mentre and the past A note goes to the use of the...About
Ciao! I'm Serena, and I'm the creator of Smart Italian Learning. I am the head teacher of a small language school. We offer online, in-person and video courses for Italian learners, with a focus on adult English native speakers. Our courses are based on our passion for teaching and our experience as long-term adult language learners. You can meet us online, or in person in Rome.