Breakdown of Dopo cena, ci mangiamo sia un biscotto sia un cioccolatino.
un
a / an (masculine)
mangiare
to eat
la cena
the dinner
ci
to us
il biscotto
the cookie
dopo
after
sia
both / and (when used as sia... sia)
il cioccolatino
the chocolate praline
Questions & Answers about Dopo cena, ci mangiamo sia un biscotto sia un cioccolatino.
Why is the word ci used here? Doesn't mangiamo already mean 'we eat'?
Ci is acting as an affective dative (or dativo etico). While mangiare is not a reflexive verb, adding the reflexive pronoun ci adds a layer of personal involvement or enjoyment. It changes 'we eat' to something closer to 'we treat ourselves to' or 'we will enjoy eating.'
Would the sentence still be correct if I removed ci?
Why does the translation use the future tense ('we'll treat ourselves') when mangiamo is present tense?
In Italian, the present tense is frequently used to talk about the near future as long as the context makes it clear. Because the sentence starts with Dopo cena (After dinner), the future timeframe is already established, making the present tense mangiamo feel completely natural.
How does the structure sia... sia... work?
Sia... sia... is a correlative conjunction that translates to 'both... and...'. It is a very common way to link two options inclusively. You might also hear its equivalent variation, sia... che..., which means exactly the same thing.
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