Quando or Quanto? When a Consonant Can Make You Wonder

| Sat, 10/11/2014 - 03:30

How many times have you heard that Italian is a very phonetic language, so pronunciation and spelling should be really easy  and felt powerless when you actually struggled with both?

While it is true that most words are spelled exactly like they are pronounced, there are specific cases which can make learning difficult for non native speakers.

Today we look at the easy mistake many students do when it comes to two specific words which have a similar, yet different sound: QUANDO and QUANTO.

QUANDO with a D as in 'dad' means WHEN

QUANTO with a T as in 'toast' means HOW MUCH

I usually suggest a small trick: to remember which one is which, think about the fact that QUANDO (when) has a D like in DAY, so I relate it to a word that is connected to time as well. 

To practice your pronunciation have fun with these two famous Italian songs:

Quando Quando Quando....Tony Renis

 

Quanto Amore Sei...... Eros Ramazzotti