Question 1

Why is it un caffè and not uno caffè?

Accepted Answer

In Italian, uno is used before masculine nouns that begin with s + consonant, z, gn, ps, x, y or pn. Since caffè starts with a simple consonant (c), you use the regular indefinite article un.

Question 2

What exactly does forte mean here?

Accepted Answer

Forte literally means “strong.” When talking about coffee, it indicates high coffee-to-water ratio or intense flavor. You could also hear intenso, but forte is the most common everyday adjective for “strong coffee.”

Question 3

Why do we need come? Couldn’t we say un caffè forte il caffè che prepari?

Accepted Answer

Come in this sentence means “like” or “as.” You need it to compare two things: your coffee and the one the other person makes.  
• Without come, it would be a simple noun clause, not a comparison.  
• If you dropped come, you’d have to rewrite: Bevo un caffè forte, il caffè che prepari tu ogni mattina, which is grammatically okay but changes the style (it becomes two coordinated clauses rather than a simile).

Question 4

What role does quello che play?

Accepted Answer

Quello is a pronoun meaning “that one,” and che introduces a relative clause. Together quello che prepari tu means “the one that you make.” So come quello che prepari tu literally means “like the one that you make.” If you dropped quello, you’d need che to refer back to caffè, but it’d sound awkward: come che prepari tu is ungrammatical.

Question 5

Why is the verb prepari in the second person singular?

Accepted Answer

Because it refers to tu (you). In Italian you normally drop the subject pronoun, so you get just prepari. It agrees with tu:  
• Io preparo  
• Tu prepari  
Here the speaker is comparing to what you prepare, so they use prepari.

Question 6

Is tu necessary after prepari? What does it add?

Accepted Answer

You can omit tu and simply say come quello che prepari ogni mattina—it’s fully understood from the verb ending.  
Including tu adds:  
• Emphasis: “the one you (and nobody else) make”  
• Clarity if the context has multiple people  
It’s optional and mostly stylistic.

Question 7

Could I say Bevo un caffè forte come il tuo ogni mattina instead?

Accepted Answer

Yes, you can. That version uses il tuo (the masculine singular possessive) to mean “yours.” So:  
• come quello che prepari tu = “like the one that you make” (focus on the act of making)  
• come il tuo = “like yours” (focus on possession)  
Both are correct; the first is more literal about preparing, the second more concise.

Bevo un caffè forte come quello che prepari tu ogni mattina.

Breakdown of Bevo un caffè forte come quello che prepari tu ogni mattina.

Questions & Answers about Bevo un caffè forte come quello che prepari tu ogni mattina.

More from this lesson

Master Italian — from Bevo un caffè forte come quello che prepari tu ogni mattina to fluency