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Anziché mangiare cibo fritto, cucino la verdura.

Anziché mangiare cibo fritto, cucino la verdura.
Instead of eating fried food, I cook vegetables.
From Lesson 259:Expressing alternatives (invece di, anziché)·Italian

Questions & Answers about Anziché mangiare cibo fritto, cucino la verdura.

Why is the verb mangiare in the infinitive when the English translation says 'eating'?
After words expressing an alternative like anziché (instead of), Italian uses the present infinitive form of the verb (mangiare). English uses the '-ing' form for this, but Italian sticks to the basic dictionary form of the verb.
Can I use invece di in this sentence instead?
Yes, you can say Invece di mangiare cibo fritto. It means exactly the same thing as anziché. Just remember that anziché connects directly to the following verb, whereas invece requires the preposition di before the infinitive.
Why is la verdura singular in Italian but translated as plural 'vegetables' in English?
In Italian, la verdura is commonly used as a singular collective noun to talk about vegetables in general. While you will sometimes see the plural le verdure (usually referring to several different types of vegetables), the singular form is the standard way to refer to the whole category of greens.
How does fritto work here? Is it a verb or an adjective?
Fritto is the past participle of the verb friggere (to fry), but in this sentence it acts as a descriptive adjective meaning 'fried'. Because it is describing cibo (a singular masculine noun), it takes the masculine singular -o ending and follows the normal rule of coming right after the noun.

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