When describing an item by saying it is "easy to use," "hard to chew," or "good to eat," English links the adjective to the verb with the word to. Italian achieves this by linking the descriptive adjective directly to the infinitive verb using the preposition da.
- facile
- da
- spalmare = easy to spread
- da
- impossibile
- da
- masticare = impossible to chew
- da
This structure is extremely common when talking about food and textures.
| Tough meat is impossible to chew. | La carne dura è impossibile da masticare. |
| This cheese is soft and easy to spread on the bread. | Questo formaggio è morbido e facile da spalmare sul pane. |
| The green apple is crispy and good to eat. | La mela verde è croccante e buona da mangiare. |
Describing tastes and preparation
You will also use da to connect flavors—such as amaro (bitter), aspro (sour), or piccante (spicy)—to verbs related to eating and preparation, like sbucciare (to peel) or bere (to drink).
| The lemon is very sour and difficult to peel. | Il limone è molto aspro e difficile da sbucciare. |
| This medicine is bitter to drink. | Questa medicina è amara da bere. |
You can easily contrast two different items or textures within the same sentence using this pattern.
| The meat is tender to cut, but the bread is hard to chew. | La carne è tenera da tagliare, ma il pane è duro da masticare. |
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