Unit 65 Guidebook: talk about food
KEY PHRASES
Talk about food
Io mangio una carota.
I eat a carrot.
I eat a carrot.
Io ho un piatto.
I have a plate.
I have a plate.
Non mangio formaggio.
I do not eat cheese.
I do not eat cheese.
Io sono il cuoco.
I am the cook.
I am the cook.
Il ragazzo ha un biscotto al cioccolato.
The boy has a chocolate cookie.
The boy has a chocolate cookie.
Lei taglia la mela.
She cuts the apple.
She cuts the apple.
TIP
Which flavor?
In English we say chocolate cream, but in Italian you'd say crema al cioccolato.
Io mangio la crema al cioccolato.
I'm eating the chocolate cream.
I'm eating the chocolate cream.
Io ho la torta al caffè.
I have the coffee cake.
I have the coffee cake.
Al is often used to talk about food and flavors, but you'll see that little word in many other situations. Keep an eye out for it!
Note that, in English, the isn't always necessary, but in Italian you should never leave it out!
Il gelato non è una colazione.
Ice cream is not a breakfast.
Ice cream is not a breakfast.
TIP
Nom nom nom
Here's a recap for the forms of verbs that end in ‑are, like mangiare, cucinare, and tagliare.
| subject | verb (cucinare) |
|---|---|
| io I |
cucino cook |
| tu you |
cucini cook |
| lui / lei he / she |
cucina cooks |
| noi we |
cuciniamo cook |
| voi you all |
cucinate cook |
| loro they |
cucinano cook |
Lui cucina il cibo.
He cooks the food.
He cooks the food.
TIP
The sounds of C
The letter c in Italian usually sounds like k in English.
caffè
caffè, biscotto, crema (it sounds like k, as in cap)
However, when c comes before e or i, it sounds like English ch.
cena
cena, spiacente (as in cheap)
cibo
cibo, cucino, arrivederci (as in chin)
And whenever you come across a double c, be sure to make it sound longer and stronger than a single c.
cioccolato
cioccolato (longer sound, as in black car)