Learn Hardcore Italian: Durante una scena silenziosa sento cadere qualcosa dal soffitto. - During a quiet scene I hear something fall from the ceiling.

Durante is a preposition meaning ‘during’. It introduces a span of time or an event in which something happens. In Italian it’s followed by a noun (with or without an article):

durante il film – during the movie
durante una scena silenziosa – during a quiet scene

Can I use in instead of durante here?

Not exactly. In can express time in broader contexts (e.g. in estate, in dieci minuti) but when you refer to the duration of a specific event (a scene, a lecture, a concert) you prefer durante. Saying in una scena silenziosa would sound more like “inside a silent scene” rather than “while that scene unfolds.”

Why is silenziosa placed after scena? Could it go before?

In Italian, most descriptive adjectives normally follow the noun:

una scena silenziosa (neutral)
Putting silenziosa before (e.g. una silenziosa scena) is possible but adds a poetic or emphatic nuance, focusing attention on the “silence” as a characteristic you want to highlight.

Why is cadere in the infinitive after sento rather than a finite verb form?

Verbs of perception like sentire, vedere, ascoltare can be followed by an infinitive to express perceiving an action in its entirety. So:

Sento cadere qualcosa = “I hear/feel something fall.”
If you used a finite clause, you’d need che and a conjugated verb:
Sento che qualcosa cade (less immediate, more like “I notice that something is falling”).

Could I rearrange the order of cadere qualcosa dal soffitto?

Yes, Italian word order is fairly flexible. All of these sound natural:

Sento cadere qualcosa dal soffitto.
Sento qualcosa cadere dal soffitto.
Dal soffitto sento cadere qualcosa.
Moving dal soffitto to the front emphasizes where it falls; placing qualcosa right after sento emphasizes what you hear.

What’s the difference between qualcosa and qualche cosa?

Both mean ‘something’, but:

qualcosa is written as one word and is by far the more common form.
qualche cosa (two words) is grammatically correct but somewhat stilted.

Why is it dal soffitto and not just da soffitto?

Dal is the contraction of da + il (the). In Italian, you normally use the definite article with body parts and household parts:

dal soffitto = da
- il soffitto (“from the ceiling”)
  Dropping the article (da soffitto) would be ungrammatical here.

Why is the present tense sento used instead of a past tense?

Italian often uses the present tense to describe:

Current, ongoing actions (“I’m hearing something right now”).
The narrative (or historical) present to make a scene more vivid, even if it’s recounted.

What’s the difference between soffitto and tetto?

Both relate to “roof/ceiling,” but:

soffitto = the interior overhead surface you see when you look up indoors (ceiling)
tetto = the exterior covering of a building (roof)