Breakdown of Voglio una bevanda che non sia troppo fredda.
essere
to be
una
a / an (feminine)
non
not
freddo
cold
troppo
too, too much, too many
volere
to want
che
who, that (relative pronoun)
la bevanda
the drink / the beverage
Questions & Answers about Voglio una bevanda che non sia troppo fredda.
Why is the verb sia in the subjunctive instead of the normal indicative è?
Because you are describing a drink you want to find, not a specific one you know already exists. When a phrase starting with che describes an undefined or desired thing, Italian uses the subjunctive mood to show that this is a requirement you are looking for.
If I changed una bevanda to la bevanda (the drink), would the verb change too?
Often we use an infinitive after verbs like volere. Why doesn't that happen here?
The rule about using an infinitive after verbs of wanting only applies when the subject is the same for both actions (like "I want to drink"). In this sentence, the subjects are different: you are doing the wanting (voglio), but the drink is the thing that might be cold (sia). Because the subjects are different, you must use che and a conjugated verb.
Does sia mean "I am" or "it is" in this sentence?
It means "it is". In the Italian present subjunctive, the conjugations for io, tu, and lui/lei are all exactly the same. Here, sia matches una bevanda (a "she/it" subject).
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