Learn Italian: Esco per mangiare al ristorante. - I go out to eat at the restaurant.

In Italian, subject pronouns like io (I) are usually dropped because the verb ending already tells you who is doing the action. Esco specifically means "I go out," so adding io isn't necessary unless you want to emphasize it.

The verb for "to go out" is uscire. Why does it start with an "e" here?

Uscire is a highly irregular verb. For the "I", "you", "he/she", and "they" forms, the beginning of the word changes from a "u" to an "e". So, "I go out" is esco, but "we go out" keeps the "u" and becomes usciamo.

Why do we need per before mangiare? Doesn't mangiare already mean "to eat"?

While mangiare is the infinitive form meaning "to eat," using per before an infinitive verb translates to "in order to." So, per mangiare specifically means "in order to eat." You are going out for the purpose of eating.

Where does the word al come from?

Al is a blended word made by combining the preposition a (to/at) and the masculine word for "the", which is il. Because ristorante is masculine and starts with a consonant, it takes il, and a + il always merges into al.