Learn Hardcore Italian: Matteo sembra dubbioso, ma la regista gli spiega di nuovo la scena. - Matteo seems doubtful, but the director explains the scene to him again.

sembra is the third-person singular present of sembrare (“to seem”). It’s the most neutral, everyday way to say “it seems.” Pare (from parere) and appare (“to appear”) are true synonyms, but they sound more formal or literary. In casual speech you’ll almost always hear sembra.

What does dubbioso mean, and how is it different from incerto or titubante?

dubbioso means “having doubts,” “hesitating,” “unconvinced.”
• Incerto is closer to “uncertain,” simply not sure what will happen.
• Titubante emphasizes the act of hesitating, like wavering before deciding.
All three can overlap, but dubbioso specifically highlights the presence of doubts.

Why is ma used here? Could I use però or tuttavia instead?

ma is the most common colloquial conjunction for “but.” You can indeed replace it with però, which is slightly more emphatic but still common in speech. Tuttavia is more formal or found in writing. All three express contrast, but ma is by far the simplest and most frequent in conversation.

Why does the sentence say la regista? Isn’t regista feminine only?

In Italian regista is an invariable noun ending in ‑a that can refer to a man or a woman. The gender is shown by the article:
• il regista = a male director
• la regista = a female director
Here the article la tells you the director is a woman.

What is the role of gli in gli spiega? Why not le or lo?

gli is the indirect-object clitic meaning “to him” (singular). The verb spiegare requires an indirect object (“explain something to someone”). Since Matteo is male, you use gli.
• le would mean “to her.”
• lo is a direct-object pronoun (“him/it”), not used with spiegare.

What does di nuovo mean and where can it go in the sentence?

di nuovo means “again” or “once more.” It’s an adverbial phrase modifying the verb. The most natural positions are:
• before the direct object: gli spiega di nuovo la scena
• after the direct object: gli spiega la scena di nuovo
You could use ancora to mean “again,” but ancora can also mean “still,” so di nuovo is clearer for “one more time.”

Why is the clitic pronoun gli placed before the verb spiega?

In Italian, clitic pronouns normally precede a conjugated verb in indicative, subjunctive, conditional, etc. You attach them after the verb only in:
• affirmative imperatives (Spiegagli la scena!)
• infinitives (spiegargli la scena)
• gerunds (spiegandogli la scena)
In the present-tense indicative you must say gli spiega, not spiega gli.