Italian · Beginner (A1) · Chapter 3 of 12
At the café
Al bar
Order coffee and breakfast at an Italian bar, ask how much it is, and learn when to say tu and when to say Lei.
In this chapter you'll learn to
- Order a drink and something to eat politely
- Ask how much it is and pay
- Choose between tu and Lei
- Use un, uno, una and un' correctly
Listen
Francesca stops at a bar in Rome for breakfast before work. Her friend Luca comes in. Listen to the whole dialogue first, then line by line.
Barista
Buongiorno. Cosa prende?
Good morning. What will you have?
Francesca
Un cappuccino, per favore.
A cappuccino, please.
Barista
Altro?
Anything else?
Francesca
No, grazie. Quant'è?
No, thanks. How much is it?
Barista
Un euro e sessanta.
One euro sixty.
Luca
Ciao, Francesca!
Hi, Francesca.
Francesca
Ciao, Luca! Cosa prendi? Offro io.
Hi, Luca. What will you have? It's on me.
Luca
Grazie. Un caffè e un cornetto.
Thanks. A coffee and a croissant.
Francesca
Allora, anche un caffè e un cornetto, per favore.
Then a coffee and a croissant too, please.
Barista
Va bene. In tutto sono quattro euro e dieci.
All right. That's four euros ten altogether.
Understand
Tu or Lei?
In chapter 1 you met the two words for “you” when you talk to one person. Use with friends, family, children and people your age in relaxed situations. Use with strangers, shop and café staff, and older people. It is the polite form.
also means “she”, and it takes the same verb form as “she”. That's why the barista asks Francesca , while Francesca asks her friend In writing, the polite often has a capital L.
| Word | Use it with | Example |
|---|---|---|
| friends, family, children, people your age | (What will you have?) | |
| strangers, staff, older people | (What will you have?) |
- Come stai?How are you? (tu)
- Come sta?How are you? (Lei)
“A” in Italian: un, uno, una, un'
Every Italian noun is either masculine or feminine. Most nouns ending in -o are masculine and most ending in -a are feminine. Nouns ending in -e or in an accented vowel can be either, so learn each noun with its article: , .
The word for “a” depends on the gender and on the first letter of the noun. Note that never takes an apostrophe: is only for feminine nouns.
| Article | Use it with | Example |
|---|---|---|
| most masculine nouns | ||
| masculine nouns starting with s + consonant or z (also the rarer gn, ps, y) | , (a snack) | |
| feminine nouns starting with a consonant | ||
| feminine nouns starting with a vowel |
Say it right: cappuccino and caffè
Double consonants are held a little longer: cap-puc-ci-no, cor-net-to. Before i or e, cc sounds like a long “ch”: is “kahp-pooch-CHEE-no”.
An accent on the last letter shows that the stress falls there: is “kahf-FEH”. It also changes the meaning of short words: means “is”, while means “and”.
More in the grammar: Articles: il, lo, la, l', i, gli, le and un, uno, una, un' · Nouns: masculine, feminine and plural · Subject pronouns: io, tu, lui, lei, Lei… · The Italian alphabet and pronunciation
New words
- Cosa prende?What will you have? · polite (Lei)
- il cappuccinocappuccino · masculine
- per favoreplease
- Altro?Anything else?
- Quant'è?How much is it? · short for
- Cosa prendi?What will you have? · informal (tu)
- Offro io.It's on me. / I'm paying.
- il caffècoffee (an espresso) · masculine
- il cornettocroissant · masculine
- in tuttoaltogether, in total
- il barcafé · masculine; in Italy a café is called a
- il contothe bill · masculine
- la spremutafreshly squeezed juice · feminine
- l'aranciataorange soda · feminine:
Practise
1.You're asking a shop assistant for help. Which “you” do you use?
2.Write “a” in Italian: , , or ?
A spritz, please.
3.Your friend comes into the bar. Ask her what she'll have.
What will you have? It's on me.
4.Put the words in order to ask for the bill.
Tap the words below in the right order.The bill, please.
5.Which is correct?
6.Match the Italian with the English.
Pick a word on the left, then its meaning on the right.
0 of 6 exercises done.
Say it out loud
Un cappuccino e un cornetto, per favore.
A cappuccino and a croissant, please.
Listen, then say it out loud, as close to the recording as you can.
Check
Five questions on this chapter. Then mark it as finished to add its words to your review deck.
0 of 5 answered.