Learn Italian: Mangio le patate con l'aceto. - I eat the potatoes with vinegar.

Mangio le patate con l'aceto.

I eat the potatoes with vinegar.

Breakdown of Mangio le patate con l'aceto.

the vinegar (olio e aceto) (m)

Questions & Answers about Mangio le patate con l'aceto.

Why isn't there an "Io" (I) at the beginning of the sentence?

In Italian, the ending of the verb usually tells you who is doing the action. Because mangio ends in -o, it already means "I eat." You can add io for emphasis, but it is completely normal to leave it out.

Why is it l'aceto ("the vinegar") when the English translation just says "with vinegar"?

Italian uses definite articles (like il, la, or l') much more often than English. When talking about a food ingredient or a general category, Italian requires the article. So, "with vinegar" translates to con l'aceto (literally "with the vinegar").

Why do we use l' for aceto instead of il?

Aceto is a masculine singular noun. Normally, these nouns take the article il. However, because aceto starts with a vowel, the i in il is dropped and replaced with an apostrophe, becoming l'aceto to make pronunciation smoother.

What is the singular form of le patate?

The singular is la patata (the potato). Since it is a feminine noun ending in -a, its plural ending changes to -e, making it le patate.