Breakdown of Sappiamo che il direttore vuole assumere il candidato.
il direttore
the manager / the director
volere
to want
sapere
to know
il candidato
the candidate
che
that (conjunction introducing a clause)
assumere
to hire
Questions & Answers about Sappiamo che il direttore vuole assumere il candidato.
Why do we use sappiamo here instead of a form of conoscere?
We use sapere (here as sappiamo, we know) because it introduces a fact or a piece of information. When you know that a situation is true—almost always followed by the word che (that)—you must use sapere. You would only use conoscere if you were talking about being familiar with a person or thing, such as saying "We know the director" (Conosciamo il direttore).
In English, we could just say "We know the director wants...". Can we drop the word che in Italian?
No, you cannot drop it. In English, the word "that" is often optional in this kind of sentence, but in Italian, the conjunction che is absolutely required to connect the two halves of the sentence.
Why is the verb assumere left in its dictionary form?
Because it directly follows vuole, which is a conjugated form of the verb volere (to want). Volere is a "modal verb" (a helping verb that expresses desire, ability, or permission). In Italian, when you pair a modal verb with another action (wants to hire), the first verb is conjugated for the subject and the second one stays in the infinitive (the dictionary form ending in -are, -ere, or -ire).
Does assumere mean "to assume"?
It can, but it is a bit of a "false friend." In a work or business context like this sentence, assumere means "to hire" or "to take on." If you want to say "to assume" in the sense of guessing or supposing something is true, Italians usually use different verbs, like supporre or the phrase dare per scontato (to take for granted).
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