Word
È durante la degustazione che assaggiamo la deliziosa specialità del cuoco.
Meaning
It is during the tasting that we taste the cook's delicious specialty.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
Breakdown of È durante la degustazione che assaggiamo la deliziosa specialità del cuoco.
essere
to be
assaggiare
to taste
del
of the; than the (di + il)
che
who, that (relative pronoun)
Questions & Answers about È durante la degustazione che assaggiamo la deliziosa specialità del cuoco.
Why do we use che instead of quando here, since we are talking about a time period?
Because this is a cleft sentence (frase scissa), which is used to emphasize a specific part of the sentence. The structure is always essere + [emphasized element] + che + [rest of the sentence]. Even when the emphasized element is a time or place, we strictly use che to connect the clauses in Italian, never quando or dove.
What is the exact difference between degustazione and the verb assaggiare?
Assaggiare means to taste or sample a small amount of food or drink to check its flavor. A degustazione (from the related verb degustare) is a formal tasting event or experience, like a wine or cheese tasting. We use assaggiare here because they are actively trying the food, but doing so at the formal event (la degustazione).
Why is the adjective deliziosa placed before specialità?
In Italian, placing an adjective before the noun gives it a more subjective, emotional, or descriptive emphasis. Putting deliziosa first highlights the speaker's appreciation of how delicious it is, rather than just objectively categorizing it (which is what placing it after the noun would typically do).
Can the verb essere change tense in a cleft sentence like this?