Learn Italian: Lei potrà superare ogni ostacolo. - You will be able to overcome every obstacle.

Lei potrà superare ogni ostacolo.

You will be able to overcome every obstacle.

Breakdown of Lei potrà superare ogni ostacolo.

Questions & Answers about Lei potrà superare ogni ostacolo.

Why is the verb potrà and not "poterà"?

Potrà comes from the verb potere (to be able to). In the future tense, potere is a stem-dropping irregular verb: it drops the "e" from its stem, becoming potr-. Then we add the standard third-person singular future ending -à to get potrà.

Doesn't Lei usually mean "she"? Why is it translated as "you"?

In Italian, Lei is used as the formal "you" when speaking politely to a stranger, an elder, or a superior. Because the formal "you" always takes third-person verbs, it pairs perfectly with the third-person future form potrà.

Why is superare left in its infinitive (dictionary) form here?

Potere is a modal (helper) verb, which means it is followed directly by the infinitive form of the main verb. Since potere is already conjugated to show who is doing the action and when (potrà), superare (to overcome) stays in its basic form.

Ostacolo is a masculine noun starting with a vowel. Why does ogni end in an "i" instead of an "o" or an apostrophe?