Italian Phrase
Possono risparmiare dei soldi.
Meaning
The sentence means ‘They can save some money.’ It conveys the ability or possibility for a group (or formal you) to set aside a certain, unspecified amount of money, often in the context of budgeting or financial advice.
When to use
Use this phrase when discussing financial habits, giving advice about budgeting, or describing a group’s capacity to cut expenses. It works well in casual conversation, classroom discussions, or financial planning workshops.
✦Grammar Breakdown
Possonorisparmiaredeisoldi.
Potere (possono)
‘Possono’ is the third‑person plural present indicative of the modal verb ‘potere’, used to express ability or permission.
Infinitive after modal
When a modal verb appears, the main verb stays in the infinitive form – here ‘risparmiare’.
Partitive article ‘dei’
‘dei’ is the partitive article meaning ‘some’; it signals an indefinite amount of a plural noun.
Noun ‘soldi’
‘soldi’ is the plural of ‘soldo’; in everyday speech it simply means ‘money’.
🗨In Conversation
Gli studenti hanno una borsa di studio limitata?
Do the students have a limited scholarship?
Sì, possono risparmiare dei soldi riducendo le spese per i libri.
Yes, they can save some money by cutting book expenses.
✕Common Mistakes
Possono risparmiare un soldi.
‘Soldi’ is plural, so the correct partitive article is ‘dei’, not ‘un’.
Possono risparmiere dei soldi.
After a modal verb you must use the infinitive ‘risparmiare’, not the conjugated form.
Possono risparmiare soldi.
While understandable, omitting the partitive article loses the nuance of ‘some’ and sounds less natural.
↔Alternatives
Possono mettere da parte dei soldi.
They can set aside some money.
Possono risparmiare un po' di soldi.
They can save a bit of money.
Possono risparmiare soldi.
They can save money.
Cultural Tip
In Italy, talking about ‘risparmiare dei soldi’ is common in family and workplace conversations about budgeting. The partitive article ‘dei’ softens the statement, implying a modest, manageable amount rather than a large sum. Avoid using the formal ‘un soldi’ – the correct partitive for plural nouns is ‘dei’, ‘delle’ or ‘degli’ depending on gender and number.