Grammar
The Italian Verb ‘Potere’: Conjugations and Uses
Conjugation of Potere (Present Tense) ItalianEnglishExamplesPossoI can / Can I?Posso aiutarti? (Can I help you?)PuoiYou can / Can you?Perché non puoi venire alla riunione? (Why can’t you join the meeting?)PuòHe/She can / Can he, she?Lui può andare in palestra oggi....
Italian Pronunciation Made Easy (for English Speakers)
Why it's Important To Practice Your Italian Pronunciation From Day 1 In over ten years of teaching Italian as a foreign language, I've noticed a number of patterns that are next to impossible to get rid of (or that take a great deal of time and work to unlearn). A...
Passato Prossimo with Pronouns. A Simple Guide.
The basic rule is that when using the passato prossimo tense with the auxiliary verb 'avere', the past participle—the second part of the verb—usually does not change. It remains the same regardless of the subject's gender and number. Lei ha comprato Noi abbiamo...
Most Common -IRE Verbs in Italian
There are two types of "-ire" verbs in Italian. Some, like "dormire" (to sleep), are considered regular and follow the conjugation pattern seen in the first chart. Others, such as "capire" (to understand), are considered "irregular" and follow the conjugation pattern...
Most Common -ERE Verbs in Italian
Present Tense of 'scrivere' (regular verb) IoscrivoI write or I'm writing TuscriviYou write you're writingLui/LeiscriveHe/she writes or he/she is writingNoiscriviamoWe write or we are writingVoiscriveteYou all write or you're all writingLoroscrivonoThey write or...
Sapere and Potere. What’s the difference?
In Italian, 'potere' is more commonly used to express possibility or permission, but NOT skill or ability. To express the skill or ability to do something, the verb 'sapere' is used, which means 'to know how to.' For example, 'so nuotare' translates to 'I can...
Italian Present Progressive
What's the Italian present progressive? The present progressive tense in Italian is used to describe actions occurring at the moment of speaking. For instance, "sto andando a lavoro" translates to "I am going to work" and indicates the action is happening as you...
How To Use ‘CI’ and ‘NE’ in Italian
Have you been learning Italian for a while? Then, I am sure you have been faced with the quirky usage of the Italian particles ci and ne (also known as particelle pronominali, in Italian). And you've been wondering dozens of times what...
Italian Indirect Object Pronouns: A Simple Guide
Yes, pronouns are not easy to grasp, but they're worth mastering. Why? It's simple. We use them all the time. We use them to avoid repeating things and be concise, typically in a conversation. It's the same in English and in many other languages. Knowing the Italian...