Breakdown of Prepara i piatti, che dobbiamo impiattare subito.
il piatto
the plate
subito
immediately / right away
dovere
must
preparare
to prepare
Questions & Answers about Prepara i piatti, che dobbiamo impiattare subito.
Why is che used here instead of perché?
In informal spoken Italian, che is frequently used as a shortcut to mean 'because' or 'since' to justify a command or statement you just made. This is known as the multipurpose che. While perché is grammatically correct, using che after an imperative like prepara sounds extremely natural and conversational.
Is the comma before che important in this sentence?
Yes, the comma is highly recommended when using the causal che. It represents a slight pause in speech and helps distinguish this explanatory che ('because') from a relative pronoun. Without the comma, a reader might initially think you mean 'Prepare the plates that we have to plate,' which doesn't make as much sense.
How does the verb impiattare relate to the noun piatto?
Impiattare (to plate / to dish up) is directly formed from the noun piatto (plate). Italian often creates new verbs from nouns by adding a prefix and a verb ending. Here, the prefix in- (which changes to im- before a 'p') and the suffix -are are wrapped around the root word to mean 'to put onto a plate.'
As a quick refresher, why does the imperative prepara end in -a if it addresses the informal 'you'?