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Italian modal verbs – Difference between sapere and potere

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Italian modal verbs – Difference between sapere and potere

Potere and sapere are two Italian modal verbs that are widely used. So, knowing how to use them is essential to communicate clearly and effectively. If some of the uses of sapere and potere are quite simple to grasp, some others can be confusing at first. Let’s start from the explanation on how to use the verb sapere and potere and then we’ll move on to their differences. I’m going to use an extract of my Italian grammar for this explanation. Potere Potere is usually followed by a verb in the infinitive. Potere can be generally used to: a. Express…

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Let’s learn Italian pronominal verbs

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Let's learn Italian pronominal verbs

In Italian there is a group of verbs called pronominal verbs. Italian pronominal verbs are verbs that change their meaning when combined with pronominal particles – ci, ne, la – or with reflexive pronouns. Sometimes this change is small, some others it’s rather deep. So, today you’re going to learn seven very common Italian pronominal verbs. FARCELA Farcela in Italian means to succeed in doing something or manage to reach a goal. Ex: Ce l’ho fatta! Ti ho battuto! I did it! I’ve beaten you! Another common meaning of the Italian pronominal verb farcela is to be tired, fed up…

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Ten Italian masculine and feminine nouns with different meanings

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Italian, English-Italian Translator, Proofreading services, Online Italian lessons, English-Italian translations, Translation, Book translation, Technical translation, Learn Italian, Sos Italian, Italian masculine nouns, Italian feminine nouns

As you might know very well, in Italian nouns can be masculine, feminine or, in some cases they can be both. Some nouns have the same meaning even if their gender changes. For example, the word impiegato means male clerk, the word impiegata means female clerk. However, some other Italian nouns change their meaning according to their gender. So, let’s see ten Italian masculine and feminine nouns that have a different meaning. IL BANCO, LA BANCA The first masculine and feminine nouns we’ll study today are banco and banca. Banco can mean different things in Italian, it can mean school…

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How to use Italian passato remoto

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How to use Italian passato remoto

Sometimes students have troubles understanding when and how to use the different tenses the Italian language has. This is often because the use of Italian tenses can be different from the use the same tenses have in their native language or even because some Italian tenses do not exist in their native language. As you might already know, in Italian there are different tenses you can use to talk about the past. You can talk about the past using passato prossimo, you can talk about the past using imperfetto, and you can also talk about the past using passato remoto.…

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Difference between Italian imperfetto and passato prossimo

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Difference between imperfetto and passato prossimo

One of the most difficult Italian topics for English speakers is understanding the difference between imperfetto and passato prossimo. These two tenses are very different compared to how English speakers use simple past and present perfect, so at the beginning, imperfetto and passato prossimo are usually felt as very confusing topics. So, today I’m going to explain all the main differences between the Italian imperfetto and passato prossimo. DIFFERENCE BETWEEN IMPERFETTO AND PASSATO PROSSIMO IMPERFETTO Imperfetto is used to talk about past habits or past repetitive actions. Example: Quando ero bambino il sabato andavo sempre a catechismo When I was…

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