Learn Italian: Può darsi che arrivi tardi stasera.

Può darsi che arrivi tardi stasera.

He may arrive late tonight.

Breakdown of Può darsi che arrivi tardi stasera.

tonight / this evening

può darsi

maybe, it may be

Questions & Answers about Può darsi che arrivi tardi stasera.

Wait, if the lesson is about probability words taking the indicative mood, why does this sentence use the subjunctive (arrivi)?

Because può darsi che isn't an adverb like forse or probabilmente; it's an impersonal verb phrase ending in che (meaning "it is possible that"). Expressions of uncertainty or possibility followed by che almost always trigger the subjunctive mood in Italian.

How would this sentence change if I used a probability adverb like forse or probabilmente instead?

If you swap out può darsi che for an adverb like forse, probabilmente, or magari, you drop the che and switch back to the normal indicative mood. The sentence would simply be: Forse arriva tardi stasera.

What exactly does può darsi mean literally?

It translates literally as "it can give itself" (può + darsi). It functions as a very common set phrase meaning "it's possible" or "maybe".

Since arrivi is the present subjunctive, it can mean "I arrive", "you arrive", or "he/she arrives". How do we know it means "he"?

You have to rely on context! The present subjunctive forms for io, tu, and lui/lei are identical for all regular verbs. If the subject isn't already clear from the ongoing conversation, an Italian speaker would clarify by adding the pronoun: Può darsi che lui arrivi tardi stasera.