ILGUR: Italian Language, Grammar and Usage Resource

The word, can, can have one of several different translations.  As I have to come to find out (almost painfully!), it can be difficult for non-native speakers of Italian to grasp this.

In order to clear up any confusion, let’s look at how can is used:

In English

In English, can is used to express ability, permission, and logical possibility:

ability: I can swim well.

permission: Can I have something to drink?

logical possibility: I can see your house from the window.

In Italian

In Italian, can can be expressed with the verbs sapere + infinito, riuscire a + infinito, or potere.  Let’s study this in greater detail:

capacità:

In Italian, acquired skill/ability is expressed with the verb, sapere + infinitive (can or to know how to do something):

So nuotare bene!

I can swim well!

Capability can also be expressed with riuscire, if the skill/ability that is acquired is temporary in nature:

Riesco a sentirti da qui.

I can hear you from here.

permesso:

Permission or permesso is expressed with the verb, potere:

Puoi prendere il libro se ti serve.

You can take the book if you need it.

possibilità logica:

Potere can be used to express a logical possibility:

Si può vedere la torre da questa finestra.

One can see the tower from this window.

Therefore, potere does not possess the idea of skill/ability that can possesses — and in order to express this idea we use two verbs, according to whether the skill/ability is acquired or temporary in nature:

In genere so cantare benissimo, ma in questo momento non ci riesco perché sono raffreddato.

Usually I know how to sing/can sing very well, but right now I am not able to because I have a cold.
[In general, I can sing well, but at this moment in time I am not capable of it because I am sick]

In the example above, there’s an implication that the speaker attempted to sing.

Let’s look at this example:

In genere so cantare benissimo, ma in questo momento non posso perché sono raffreddato.

Usually I know how to sing very well, but right now I cannot because I have a cold.
[In general, I can sing well, but at this moment in time it is impossible for me because I am sick]

In this example above, the speaker made no attempt to try to sing since he/she knew full well that it would be an impossibility.

In the first example where we contrast sapere and riuscire (a + infinito), we can see a contrast between an acquired skill (so cantare) versus a momentary incapacity (non ci riesco). In the second example, there’s a contrast between an acquired skill versus an objective obstacle (the cold which sprang up on the speaker).

It helps to practice because it can be confusing — click here for some exercises.

created by Vittorio Tavini and Keith Preble