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Ha un'origine nobile, tuttavia abita in un quartiere povero.

Ha un'origine nobile, tuttavia abita in un quartiere povero.
He has a noble origin, however he lives in a poor neighborhood.
From Lesson 278:Contrastive connectors (tuttavia, eppure)·Italian

Questions & Answers about Ha un'origine nobile, tuttavia abita in un quartiere povero.

Why use tuttavia instead of ma here?
You absolutely can use ma (but), but tuttavia (however / nevertheless) is a bit more formal and emphasizes the contrast between his noble background and his current living situation. It is a great word for making your speaking and writing sound more advanced and cohesive.
Could I use eppure in this sentence instead of tuttavia?
Yes, eppure works perfectly here too. While tuttavia states a factual contrast (however), eppure adds a slight tone of surprise or contradiction (and yet, he lives in a poor neighborhood).
Why is there an apostrophe in un'origine but not in un quartiere?
The word origine is a feminine noun that starts with a vowel, so the feminine article una drops its final letter and takes an apostrophe to become un'. Quartiere is a masculine noun, so it takes the standard masculine article un, which never gets an apostrophe. This is an important rule to remember as it tells the reader the gender of the noun!
Can I use vive instead of abita here?
Yes! Abitare refers specifically to residing or having a physical house somewhere. Vivere is the broader word for living, but it is very commonly used for residing too. In this context, saying vive in un quartiere povero would mean exactly the same thing.

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