Question 1

How does anche mangiando work here, and could I say anche se mangiano instead?

Accepted Answer

Yes, you could! Anche mangiando is an "implicit" concessive clause, meaning it uses a gerund (mangiando) instead of a conjugated verb to express "even if" or "even though". You can only use this gerund structure when the subject doing the eating is the exact same as the subject of the main clause (in this case, "they"). If you wanted to use a normal, "explicit" clause, anche se mangiano means exactly the same thing.

Question 2

Why is it senza contare (infinitive) rather than a gerund like senza contando for "without counting"?

Accepted Answer

In Italian, prepositions like senza (without), di (of), and per (for) are always followed by the infinitive form of the verb. Even though English uses the "-ing" form ("without counting"), Italian strictly uses the infinitive: senza contare.

Question 3

Why do we need the article le before calorie when English just says "calories"?

Accepted Answer

Italian almost always requires definite articles (il, la, i, le) when talking about nouns in a broad, general sense. While English drops the article to say "without counting calories" in general, Italian keeps it: senza contare le calorie.

Question 4

What is the root of the verb ingrassano?

Accepted Answer

It comes from ingrassare, which means "to gain weight" or "to get fat." You might recognize the root word grasso, meaning "fat" (adjective) or "fat" (noun). Adding the prefix in- and the verb ending -are turns this descriptive word into a verb indicating a change of state.

Anche mangiando senza contare le calorie, non ingrassano.

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