Answers
Jan 02, 2014 - 08:28 AM
This is confusing for me as well, but I think "we could have" would be "avremmo potuto"….none of this gets covered in the Fluenz levels, but I'd welcome an explanation from someone who knows this well.
Jan 02, 2014 - 10:47 AM
I've noticed the same - it seems to me the Fluenz uses this mode for the past tense - we could have - something that didn't happen, as opposed to - we could - something that could occur in the future.
Jan 09, 2014 - 09:37 AM
I’ve been pondering this for a while now. Apparently, the English verbs “can” and “could” are actually modal verbs because they do not have an infinitive. The phrases: “We can” and “We could” express incomplete thoughts. They require another verb for clarification.
Perhaps, “We can play” or “We could play”. In considering your question, “We could” is used express the past tense.
For example:
In the following context “We could” describes a completed action, while “We could have” implies an action that was not completed. (or a possibility that was not realized)
I.E. - I’m glad we could play golf yesterday. (the golf game actually happened) Vs. -
We could have played golf yesterday. (but didn’t)
(As a side note, “We could” is also used to imply a future action, as Dennis mentioned. Clearly, the confusion here occurs in the English language, not the Italian.)
In Italian the Passato Prossimo is the most commonly used past tense. It’s usage requires an auxiliary verb. (In this case, “avere”.) By contrast, the English does not require an auxiliary. (Probably because “could” is itself a modal verb.) So “Abbiamo potuto” translates to “We could”, which is the past tense of “we can”. I might add that “Potere” also translates to “to be able to”, so Abbiamo potuto can also mean “We were able to”.
To make things more confusing, the corresponding English tense is called the Present Perfect; even though it describes past events. Go figure.
Perhaps, “We can play” or “We could play”. In considering your question, “We could” is used express the past tense.
For example:
In the following context “We could” describes a completed action, while “We could have” implies an action that was not completed. (or a possibility that was not realized)
I.E. - I’m glad we could play golf yesterday. (the golf game actually happened) Vs. -
We could have played golf yesterday. (but didn’t)
(As a side note, “We could” is also used to imply a future action, as Dennis mentioned. Clearly, the confusion here occurs in the English language, not the Italian.)
In Italian the Passato Prossimo is the most commonly used past tense. It’s usage requires an auxiliary verb. (In this case, “avere”.) By contrast, the English does not require an auxiliary. (Probably because “could” is itself a modal verb.) So “Abbiamo potuto” translates to “We could”, which is the past tense of “we can”. I might add that “Potere” also translates to “to be able to”, so Abbiamo potuto can also mean “We were able to”.
To make things more confusing, the corresponding English tense is called the Present Perfect; even though it describes past events. Go figure.
May 26, 2014 - 09:39 AM
Ciao Eric
You were wondering if "abbiamo potuto" shouldn't be translated as "we could have". Maybe you have found the answer by now but if not and if you go back to the tutorial for Level 4 session 4 you'll see that what we were practising here is the Italian past tense - el passato prossimo. The passato prossimo is formed similar to the English present perfect but we would translate it with the English simple past:
Auxiliary + Past Participle
Avere/Essere + Past Participle
As you learned in the tutorial there are regular and irregular past participles. The regular ones take the ending -ATO for verbs ending in -ARE and -ITO for verbs ending in -IRE and -UTO for verbs ending in -ERE. So the past participle for "potere" which as @Riff251 pointed out can mean "can" or "be able to" would be: potuto.
Now, note that in the English present perfect which is the tense that uses a similar structure to the Italian passato prossimo we only have one auxiliary - have - whilst in Italian there are two: avere and essere.
Unlike in English where the auxiliary to have only changes for he/she/it HAS, we need to conjugate the auxiliary to match the person. If So it would be:
Ho potuto
I could (the similar structure in English would be: (I) have been able to)
Hai potuto
You(i) could
Ha potuto
He/she/it/you could
Abbiamo potuto
We could
Avete potuto
You(p) could
Hanno potuto
They could
Remember that when potuto is followed by a verb of movement or state or a reflexive verb in the infinitive it takes the auxiliary "essere".
So, to come back to your question. That "abbiamo" is the "we" form of the auxiliary "avere" and "potuto" is the past participle of "potere". So it's:
(we) could.
(Again, the most similar English tense in terms of structure would be: we have been able to)
The conditionals are a very different story that we wouldn't go into until much later.
I hope this helps in case you are still wondering!
You were wondering if "abbiamo potuto" shouldn't be translated as "we could have". Maybe you have found the answer by now but if not and if you go back to the tutorial for Level 4 session 4 you'll see that what we were practising here is the Italian past tense - el passato prossimo. The passato prossimo is formed similar to the English present perfect but we would translate it with the English simple past:
Auxiliary + Past Participle
Avere/Essere + Past Participle
As you learned in the tutorial there are regular and irregular past participles. The regular ones take the ending -ATO for verbs ending in -ARE and -ITO for verbs ending in -IRE and -UTO for verbs ending in -ERE. So the past participle for "potere" which as @Riff251 pointed out can mean "can" or "be able to" would be: potuto.
Now, note that in the English present perfect which is the tense that uses a similar structure to the Italian passato prossimo we only have one auxiliary - have - whilst in Italian there are two: avere and essere.
Unlike in English where the auxiliary to have only changes for he/she/it HAS, we need to conjugate the auxiliary to match the person. If So it would be:
Ho potuto
I could (the similar structure in English would be: (I) have been able to)
Hai potuto
You(i) could
Ha potuto
He/she/it/you could
Abbiamo potuto
We could
Avete potuto
You(p) could
Hanno potuto
They could
Remember that when potuto is followed by a verb of movement or state or a reflexive verb in the infinitive it takes the auxiliary "essere".
So, to come back to your question. That "abbiamo" is the "we" form of the auxiliary "avere" and "potuto" is the past participle of "potere". So it's:
(we) could.
(Again, the most similar English tense in terms of structure would be: we have been able to)
The conditionals are a very different story that we wouldn't go into until much later.
I hope this helps in case you are still wondering!