Word
Può capitare di sbagliare una frase quando si scrive in fretta.
Meaning
It can happen that you make a mistake in a sentence when you write quickly.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
Breakdown of Può capitare di sbagliare una frase quando si scrive in fretta.
quando
when
potere
can
in fretta
quickly
scrivere
to write
Questions & Answers about Può capitare di sbagliare una frase quando si scrive in fretta.
What does può capitare literally mean, and why is it used here instead of just a simpler verb?
Può capitare literally means it can happen or it may happen.
In this sentence, capitare is used to express that something happens occasionally or by chance:
- Può capitare di sbagliare... = It can happen to make a mistake...
- More natural English: You can sometimes make a mistake... / It may happen that you make a mistake...
Italian often uses capitare in this kind of impersonal expression to talk about something that may happen in general, without pointing to a specific person.
Examples:
- Può capitare di essere stanchi. = It can happen to be tired.
- Mi è capitato di dimenticare le chiavi. = It happened to me that I forgot the keys / I happened to forget my keys.
So here it gives the sentence a general meaning: mistakes can happen.
Why is it di sbagliare after può capitare?