In English, we often use the word "can" to cover many different situations. Italian, however, uses three distinct verbs depending on the type of ability: sapere, potere, and riuscire a.
Sapere: Learned skills
Use sapere + infinitive to express a learned skill. It translates literally to "to know how" to do something. If you spent time practicing or learning an ability, use sapere.
| The circus acrobat knows how to do a spectacular jump. | L'acrobata del circo sa fare un salto spettacolare. |
| Everyone knows how to do a somersault. | Ognuno sa fare una capriola. |
Potere: Possibility and permission
Use potere + infinitive to express circumstantial possibility or permission. You use this when the environment, the rules, or your physical situation allow you to do something (or stop you from doing it).
| From the chair you can see the acrobat on the trapeze. | Dalla sedia puoi vedere l'acrobata sul trapezio. |
| Today we cannot enter the circus big top. | Oggi non possiamo entrare nel tendone del circo. |
Riuscire a: Managing to do something
Use riuscire a + infinitive to mean "to manage to" or "to succeed in" doing something. This verb often implies that the action was challenging, required effort, or had a specific outcome.
Notice that unlike sapere and potere, the verb riuscire must always be followed by the preposition a before the infinitive verb.
| The acrobat manages to keep his balance after the jump. | L'acrobata riesce a mantenere l'equilibrio dopo il salto. |
| The man did a somersault, but he did not manage to keep his balance. | L'uomo ha fatto una capriola, ma non è riuscito a mantenere l'equilibrio. |
