Learn Italian: Fanno sempre il medesimo errore. - They always make the exact same mistake.

Fanno sempre il medesimo errore.

They always make the exact same mistake.

Breakdown of Fanno sempre il medesimo errore.

Questions & Answers about Fanno sempre il medesimo errore.

What is the difference between medesimo and stesso in this sentence?

In this context, medesimo and stesso are completely interchangeable and both mean "same." Medesimo is just slightly more formal or literary. Because it is placed before the noun, it indicates exact identity (the very same mistake).

If I substitute stesso for medesimo here, does anything else in the sentence change?

Yes! The definite article must agree with the sound of the word immediately following it. Since medesimo starts with a single consonant, it takes il. But if you switch to stesso, which starts with an "s + consonant" cluster, you must change the article to lo, resulting in lo stesso errore.

Why is the adverb sempre placed after the verb instead of before it like in English?

In English, we say "They always make," putting the frequency adverb before the main verb. In Italian, adverbs of frequency like sempre (always), mai (never), and spesso (often) generally go immediately after the conjugated verb, as in fanno sempre.

Why do we use fanno (do) instead of a literal translation for "make"?