Breakdown of Scusi, cameriere, vogliamo ordinare la cena.
scusi
excuse me (formal)
la cena
the dinner
volere
to want
il cameriere
the waiter
ordinare
to order
Questions & Answers about Scusi, cameriere, vogliamo ordinare la cena.
Why is vogliamo followed by ordinare instead of a conjugated verb?
Vogliamo is a modal verb meaning "we want". In Italian, when you have a verb expressing a desire, ability, or necessity followed by another action, the second verb stays in its dictionary form (the infinitive). Here, ordinare (to order) is the infinitive.
Why do we use Scusi here instead of Scusa?
Scusi is the formal way to say "excuse me". Because you are talking to a waiter (cameriere) you do not know personally, you use the polite, formal version. If you were talking to a friend, you would use the informal scusa.
Where is the word for "we" before vogliamo?
In Italian, the ending of the verb tells you who is doing the action. The -iamo ending on vogliamo already means "we want", so the subject pronoun noi (we) is dropped unless you really want to emphasize it.
In English we just say "order dinner", so why is it ordinare la cena with the word la (the)?
Italian uses definite articles like la (the) more often than English. For broad categories, concepts, and especially meals like dinner (cena), breakfast (colazione), or lunch (pranzo), Italian generally requires the article even though we leave it out in English.
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