Learn Hardcore Italian: Mangiamo in mensa dopo la lezione. - We eat in the cafeteria after the lesson.

In Italian, you often drop the subject pronoun because the verb ending already tells you who is doing the action. The -iamo ending of mangiamo clearly means “we eat.” If you did include noi, it would sound more emphatic: Noi mangiamo in mensa dopo la lezione (We do eat in the cafeteria after class).

How do you pronounce mangiamo?

Break it into syllables: man-gia-mo.

man as in English “man”
gia sounds like “jah” with a soft g (like in “gem”)
mo as in “mo” from “moment”
Put the stress on the second syllable: man-GIA-mo.

Is mangiamo present indicative (“we eat”) or an imperative (“let’s eat”)?

Context is key. Grammatically, mangiamo can be both:

Present indicative: “We eat” or “We are eating.”
First-person plural imperative: “Let’s eat.”
Here, because it’s followed by dopo la lezione (after class), it’s most naturally the present indicative: “We eat in the cafeteria after class.” If you wanted the invitation sense, you might add a question mark or intonation: Mangiamo in mensa? (“Shall we eat in the cafeteria?”).

Why is in used with mensa? Could you say alla mensa instead?

Both are possible, but there’s a subtle difference:

Mangiamo in mensa treats the cafeteria like a general place or institution (“we eat at the cafeteria”).
Mangiamo alla mensa uses the preposition + article (a + la = alla) and can feel more like “we’re heading to that specific cafeteria.”
In everyday speech, in mensa is the standard way to say “in the cafeteria.”

Why do we say dopo la lezione instead of dopo lezione?

In Italian, time expressions introduced by dopo usually require the definite article if the noun is singular and countable. Lezione is feminine singular, so you need la. If it were plural, you’d say dopo le lezioni. Without the article it sounds ungrammatical.

Why is the present tense used to talk about something that happens in the future (after class)?

It’s common in Italian (and many languages) to use the simple present for scheduled or habitual future actions. Since the plan is fixed (after class we eat), the present indicative mangiamo covers both “we eat” and “we will eat.”

What does mensa mean and what gender is it?

Mensa is a feminine noun meaning cafeteria or canteen (often in schools, universities, large companies). You’ll always see it as la mensa, in mensa, alla mensa, etc. Its plural form is le mense.

Can I change the word order to Dopo la lezione mangiamo in mensa?

Yes. Italian is fairly flexible with adverbial phrases. Starting with Dopo la lezione shifts emphasis to when:
“After class, we eat in the cafeteria.”
Both orders are correct; choose based on what you want to highlight.