Italian Restaurant Phrases

• Unit 3 focuses on enjoying a meal at a restaurant in Italy, while Unit 4 begins, focusing on communicating about free time.

Communicating in a Restaurant

• "Cosa desidera? / I signori desiderano?" translates to "What would you like?" and is used to ask what someone wants to eat or drink.
• "Io prendo un..." means "I take a..."
• "Per me un..." means "For me a..."
• "Vorrei..." means "I would like."
• "E da bere?" translates to "And to drink?"
• "Un... per cortesia/per favore/per piacere" which means "(I take) a....please" (with three ways to say please).
• "Vuole il menu'?" translates to "Would you like a menu?"
• "No grazie, vorrei solo un primo/un secondo" means "No thanks, I would like only the first course/second course."
• "Si', grazie." means "yes please"
• "Desidera ancora qualcos'altro?" translates to "Would you like something else?"
• "Si' grazie. Che cosa avete oggi?" means "Yes please. What do you have today?"
• "No grazie, va bene cosi'." translates to "No thanks, it's fine."
• "Prende un caffe'?" means "Would you like to have a coffee?"
• "No grazie / Si' grazie" translate to "No, thanks / Yes, please."
• "Scusi, mi porta ancora mezza minerale?/ un po' di pane/ un tovagliolo?" means "Excuse me, may you bring half (bottle) of mineral water?/ a bit of bread?/ a napkin?"
• "E poi il conto, per cortesia" means "And then the bill, please."
• "E' possibile prenotare un tavolo per le otto?" translates to "Is it possible to reserve a table for h. 20?" (8 PM).
• "Certo, per quante persone?" means "Yes sure. For how many persons?"
• "Grazie mille" means "Thanks so much."
• "Prego, si figuri!" translates to "You are welcome."

Grammar: Determinative Articles

• The tables show the singular and plural forms of masculine and feminine articles in Italian.
• The masculine singular articles are "Il" (before a consonant), "L'" (before a vowel), and "Lo" (before 's' plus consonant).
• The masculine plural articles are "I" (for Il), "Gli" (for L' and Lo).
• The feminine singular article is "La."
• The feminine plural article is "Le."
• Examples: Il gelato/I gelati, L'antipasto/Gli antipasti, Lo spumante/Gli spumanti, La pizza/Le pizze, L'insalata/Le insalate.

Grammar: Plural of Substantives

• Masculine nouns ending in -o or -e usually change to -i in the plural.
• Feminine nouns ending in -a usually change to -e in the plural.
• Feminine nouns ending in -e usually change to -i in the plural.
• Nouns (masculine and feminine) with an accent on the last syllable or ending with a consonant don't change in the plural.

Singular and Plural Examples

• Masculine: L'aperitivo/Gli aperitivi, Il bicchiere/I bicchieri.
• Feminine: La bevanda/Le bevande, La carne/Le carni.
• Exceptions: Il te'/i te', La specialita'/Le specialita', Il toast/I toast.

Grammar: Using Bene and Buono

• "Bene" is an adverb typically used with verbs (e.g., qui si mangia bene).
• "Buono" is an adjective typically used with nouns (e.g., "il caffe' e' molto buono").
• Examples of "buono" in use: "Qui il caffe' e' molto buono" (the coffee is very good), "questi cornetti sono molto buoni", "queste tagliatelle sono buone".

Grammar: Interrogative Expressions

• "Che cosa avete oggi?" translates to "What do you have today?"
• "Quali piatti conoscete?" is "Which plate do you know?"
• "Per quante persone?" means "For how many persons?"
• Interrogatives always precede a verb or substantive.

Communicating about Free Time (Introduction to Unit 4)

• "Che cosa fai nel tempo libero?" means "What do you do in your free time?"
• "Di solito faccio sport/ guardo la TV / leggo/ quasi sempre a casa" translates to "I usually do sport/watch TV/read/I almost always at home."

More Phrases For Discussing Free Time

• "Anch'io / Io invece, me too / I, instead."
• "Ti piace la cucina italiana?" translates to "Do you like Italian cooking?"
• "Ti piacciono i film gialli?" means "Do you like thrillers?"
• "Si moltissimo - si' molto. No, per niente" translates to "Yes really a lot - yes a lot. No, not at all".

More Phrases For Discussing Likes And Dislikes

• "A me non piace il rock" translates to "I don't like rock".
• "A me piacciono gli spaghetti" means "I like spaghetti".
• "Anche a me / A me no" translates to "Me too / To me no".
• "Studio italiano perché' amo l'italia / per lavoro" translates to "I study Italian because I love Italy / for work".

Verbs: Suonare and Giocare

• "Io suono la chitarra" translates to "I play guitar".
• "Io gioco a carte" means "I play cards".
• The verb "suonare" is used when we mean to play music or a musical instrument.
• The verb "giocare" is used when we mean to play with a toy, to play a sport, or to play a game.