Learn Italian: Ognuno conosce questo proverbio.

Ognuno conosce questo proverbio.

Everyone knows this proverb.

Breakdown of Ognuno conosce questo proverbio.

Questions & Answers about Ognuno conosce questo proverbio.

Why does this sentence use ognuno instead of tutti?

Both mean everyone or everybody, but they are grammatically different. Ognuno is singular (literally each one) and takes the singular verb conosce. Tutti is plural (literally all) and takes a plural verb, so if you used it here you would say Tutti conoscono questo proverbio.

Could I use chi in this sentence to mean everyone?

No. While the current lesson covers chi for whoever or the people who, chi is used to set up a condition or generalized statement (like Chi conosce questo proverbio è saggio - Whoever knows this proverb is wise). Ognuno is the right word when you just want to state that every single person does something.

Why do we use a form of conoscere instead of sapere for knows?

In Italian, sapere is for knowing facts, pieces of information, or how to do something. Conoscere means to be familiar or acquainted with a person, place, or thing. Because a proverb is a thing you are familiar with, we use conoscere.

What is the plural of proverbio?

The plural is proverbi. Masculine nouns ending in an unstressed -io usually drop the -o and end with a single -i in the plural to avoid an awkward double-i sound.