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Quando ho la febbre, non ho fame.

Quando ho la febbre, non ho fame.
When I have a fever, I'm not hungry.
From Lesson 24:Idiomatic avere (avere fame, avere anni)·Italian

Questions & Answers about Quando ho la febbre, non ho fame.

Why does the Italian sentence use ho (I have) for 'I am not hungry'?
In Italian, you do not say that you are hungry. Instead, you use the verb avere (to have) and say that you have hunger (fame). So, 'I am hungry' is ho fame, and 'I am not hungry' is non ho fame.
Why does it say la febbre ('the fever') instead of using the word for 'a'?
In English, we say 'I have a fever'. In Italian, it is much more common to use the definite article la (the) with physical ailments. You literally say 'I have the fever' (ho la febbre).
Where is the word for 'I' in this sentence?
The Italian word for 'I' is io, but it is usually dropped. The verb form ho already tells us exactly who is doing the action, because only 'I' can be ho.
How does the negative word non work here?
In Italian, making a statement negative is very simple: you just place non directly in front of the verb. Therefore, ho fame (I am hungry) becomes non ho fame (I am not hungry).

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