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

It is important to understand the differences between the verbs, sapere and potere in the negative:

1. Non sapere indicates a lack of ability in doing a particular task. A good translation for this would be don’t know how. One does not know how because of a lack of training/ability. Sapere is followed directly by the infinitive:

   Non so guidare. I miei genitori non mi hanno mai insegnato.
   I don’t know how to drive. My parents never taught me.

2. Non potere means that you are unable to do something, not because of a lack of skill or ability, but because of some other factor that impedes or prevents you. Potere is also followed directly by the infinitive:

   Non possiamo andare in macchina a Milano. I miei genitori hanno la macchina.
   We cannot drive to Milan. My parents have the car.
   
   

I received a comment recently about the differences between sapere and conoscere. I will try to comment more about their uses. I would like to say that when learning a language, it is important to see words used in their contexts. Sometimes it is hard to learn a grammar concept from just one or two sentences.

Below is a conversation that I created in English. See if you can see the differences between the way I use the verb ‘to know’ in English:

John: Hi, Jen. How are you?
Jen: I’m fine, John. Thanks for asking. Do you know Marsha?
John turns to Marsha.
John: No, I don’t. Nice to meet you!
Marsha: Same here.
Jen: We are going out to dinner.
John: Cool. Where are you going?
Marsha: Savini’s! Do you know it?
John: No, I’m afraid I don’t know it. But I have heard it is really good.
Jen: It is. My parents took me there last year when they visited. The food is spectacular. After eating there I decided to take some cooking lessons.
John: And now you know how to cook, right?
Marsha laughs.
Jen: Very funny! But I have learned a lot. Did you know that Marsha went to cooking school?
John: Wow, no I didn’t!
Marsha: Yes, it was great fun.
John: Do you work in a restaurant?
Marsha: Yes, I’m the pastry chef at La Rubens? Have you been?
John: Yes! I know it — it’s expensive but very very good.
Jen: We better run, Marsha. To John: Let’s meet up later for a coffee.
John: Have a great night. Talk to you soon and nice meeting you, Marsha.

Are you able to see the differences in the meaning? Having a context (il contesto) helps you to understand the dialogue better.

Let’s look at the first use of to know:

Do you know Marsha?

In Italian, you would use conoscere. Why? Conoscere means to know, in the sense of knowing a person or being acquainted with that person. The second instance of to know is along the same lines: Do you know Savini’s? This would be conoscere also for the same reason, except they are asking of John is familiar with Savini’s through his own personal experience (in this case, he has not!).

When John asks if Jen now knows how to cook, this is clearly sapere. Knowing how to do something is sapere + infinitive.

Knowing if Marsha went to cooking school is sapere. It is a fact that she went to cooking school of which John was not aware of. When Marsha asks if John has been to the French restaurant where she works, John replies ‘I know it!’ meaning that he is familiar with it. This would require conoscere.

In English we do not make any distinction in the verb, to know, but we do make distinctions in meaning. In Italian, the meaning is conveyed by using a completely different verb. As a student of Italian, remember that conoscere means ‘to know’ in the sense of:

• being acquainted with someone (or not, as the case may be)
• familiarity with a thing through experience or lack of experience

So when you mean ‘to know’ in that sense, use conoscere. Sapere is used to convey how to do something and knowing facts. It takes some practice to learn the difference, but it is not as difficult as you may think.

Sapere is irregular in the passato remoto. It can be conjugated so:

io seppi
tu sapesti
lui/lei seppe
noi sapemmo
voi sapeste
essi seppero

Sapere and conoscere have different meanings in the passato prossimo (present perfect) and the l’imperfetto (imperfect).

Sapere means: to know (a fact), to know how to do something

In the imperfect (l’imperfetto), sapere translates as “knew,” retaining the meaning of the present but in the past (knew):

Sapevo che la festa era oggi.

I knew that the party was today.

In the present perfect (il passato prossimo), the meaning changes:

Ho saputo che la festa era oggi.

I found out that the party was today.

Conoscere means: to know in the sense of being familiar or acquainted with someone or something.In the imperfect, conoscere translates as such, retaining the meaning of the present tense with in the past:

Lei conosceva Gianna già.

She knew Gianna already.

In the present perfect, the meaning changes:

Lei ha conosciuto Gianna alla festa.

She met Gianna at the party.