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Servono pane, latte, uova eccetera.

Servono pane, latte, uova eccetera.
We need bread, milk, eggs and so on.
From Lesson 342:Summarizing (insomma, in sintesi)·Italian

Questions & Answers about Servono pane, latte, uova eccetera.

The translation says "We need", but where is the word for "we" in the Italian sentence?
The verb servire (to be necessary/needed) works similarly to piacere: the things needed are actually the subject of the sentence. Here, servono is plural because the subjects are pane, latte, and uova. The sentence literally translates to "Bread, milk, eggs, etc. are needed." To explicitly say "we need", you would add the indirect object pronoun ci before the verb: Ci servono pane...
Why is the plural of egg uova and not uovi?
Uovo is one of several irregular Italian nouns that change gender in the plural. It is masculine in the singular (un uovo) but becomes feminine in the plural, taking an -a ending (le uova). This is a helpful refresher since it frequently trips up learners when making shopping lists!
Why aren't there any articles before pane, latte, and uova?
In Italian, when rattling off a quick, general list of items or ingredients, it is very common and natural to omit the articles. You could technically use partitive articles (del pane, del latte, delle uova) to mean "some", but dropping them entirely sounds perfect for a grocery list.
Is it correct to put e before eccetera, like we say "and so on" in English?
No, you should never use e before eccetera. The word comes from Latin et cetera, which already means "and the rest". Saying e eccetera would be redundant. Just use a comma before it. You will also frequently see it abbreviated as ecc.
How could I use a connector of synthesis like insomma with a list like this?
While this sentence uses eccetera to leave the list open, you can use a synthesis connector to wrap up the thought instead. For example, you could say: Servono pane, latte, uova... insomma, bisogna fare la spesa! (We need bread, milk, eggs... in short, we need to go grocery shopping!). Connectors like insomma or in sintesi are perfect for drawing a single logical conclusion from a list of scattered items.

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