Questions & Answers about La sera ceniamo alle otto.
Why does it say La sera instead of using a word for "in"?
In Italian, you don't need a preposition to say "in the morning" or "in the evening". You just use the definite article (la mattina, la sera). This is especially common when talking about routines or habits.
Where is the word for "we" in this sentence?
In Italian, you don't usually need to say the subject pronoun like noi (we). The ending of the verb tells you who is doing the action. The -iamo ending in ceniamo always means "we".
English uses two words for "have dinner". Why does Italian only use one (ceniamo)?
Italian has a specific verb for eating dinner: cenare. You use it just like a regular verb, so you don't need to use the Italian word for "to have" at all. You will also see this with pranzare, which means "to have lunch".
Why is "at eight" translated as alle otto instead of just a otto?
When giving the time in Italian, you combine the preposition a (at) with the definite article le (the) to make alle. You use the feminine plural le because you are referring to le ore (the hours), even though that word is left out!
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