Learn Hardcore Italian: Il cibo è buono e il vino è altrettanto buono. - The food is good and the wine is just as good.

Altrettanto means just as or equally. In the sentence, it is used to compare the quality of the wine to that of the food, indicating that the wine is just as good as the food. It functions as an adverb modifying the adjective buono.

Why are there two separate clauses (Il cibo è buono and il vino è altrettanto buono) instead of combining the subjects and using a single predicate?

The sentence uses two separate clauses to clearly establish and compare the qualities of the two items. While you could say Il cibo e il vino sono buoni to indicate both are good, the construction with altrettanto emphasizes that the wine matches the food in quality. This approach highlights the equivalence between the two qualities.

How does the structure of this Italian sentence compare to a similar sentence in English making such a comparison?

The structure is very similar. In English, you might say The food is good and the wine is just as good. Both languages start with a statement about one subject's quality and then compare the second subject using a term that implies equality. In Italian, altrettanto plays the role of just as, and the sentence maintains parallelism by repeating the form (subject) + è + (adjective) for each part.

Does the adjective buono need to change form in this sentence, and why is it the same for both subjects?

No, it does not need to change form here because both il cibo and il vino are masculine singular nouns. In Italian, adjectives must agree in gender and number with the noun they modify. If the subjects were of different genders or numbers, the adjective forms might differ accordingly.

Can this sentence be rephrased in Italian while retaining the same meaning, and if so, how?

Yes, one alternative is Il cibo è buono e anche il vino lo è. In this version, anche means also, and lo è substitutes for è buono, still conveying that the wine is as good as the food.