Learn French: Est-ce que tu prends un peu de pâtes ?

After expressions of quantity like un peu de (a little) or beaucoup de (a lot), the de never changes to des, even if the noun following it is plural. It stays exactly as de (or d' before a vowel word). So it is always un peu de pâtes.

Why use prends (take) instead of the French word for 'having'?

In English, we often use 'having' when we mean eating or drinking (like 'having pasta' or 'having a coffee'). In French, the rule is to use the verb prendre (to take) whenever you are talking about having a portion of food or a drink.

Why does pâtes have an 's' at the end when 'pasta' doesn't in English?

In English, 'pasta' is treated as a singular, uncountable concept. In French, pâtes is almost always plural when talking about the dish, very similar to how we say 'noodles' in English.

Could I ask this question without using Est-ce que?

Yes! In casual spoken French, people often drop Est-ce que and just raise their pitch at the end of a regular sentence to make it a question. You could simply say Tu prends un peu de pâtes ?