Breakdown of La signora vuole ordinare una pizza e un caffè.
un
a / an (masculine)
una
a / an (feminine)
e
and
la signora
lady, madam, Mrs.
Questions & Answers about La signora vuole ordinare una pizza e un caffè.
Why do we need La before signora? Doesn't that mean "The Mrs. wants..."?
How do I know vuole means "she wants"?
Vuole is the "he/she/it" form of the verb volere (to want). Volere is a highly irregular verb, meaning it changes its stem from "vol-" to "vuol-" in the present tense for most singular forms. It doesn't look like a standard verb ending, so you just have to memorize this shape!
Why is ordinare left in its dictionary form (infinitive) instead of being conjugated?
Because it comes right after a modal verb like volere (to want). The rule in Italian is to conjugate the first verb (vuole for "she wants"), and leave the second verb in its infinitive form (ordinare for "to order"). We do something very similar in English!
Why do we use una for the pizza and un for the coffee?
It depends on the grammatical gender of the noun. Pizza is a feminine noun, so it takes the feminine word for "a" (una). Caffè is a masculine noun, so it takes the masculine word for "a" (un).