Ordering in Italian: Vorrei, Quanto costa? and Il conto, per favore

Ordering in Italian needs four phrases: Vorrei... to ask, Quanto costa? to check the price, Quant'è? at the till and Il conto, per favore at a table. Add per favore and grazie, and the rest is the names of things.

The whole exchange on one screen

To Altro? the answer is No, basta così, grazie: no, that's all, thanks.

Vorrei: the polite way to ask

vorrei is the conditional of volere: I would like. It is the word for ordering, booking and asking for anything in a shop. voglio, I want, is the present tense, and said to a waiter or a shop assistant it sounds like a demand:

• Vorrei un caffè. - I'd like a coffee.
• Vorrei pagare. - I'd like to pay.
• Voglio un gelato! - I want an ice cream! (a child)

Per me, prendo

When a waiter takes a table's order, each person says what they will have:

• Per me un'acqua naturale. - A still water for me.
• Io prendo la pasta. - I'll have the pasta.
• Anche per me. - The same for me.

prendere (to take) is the everyday verb for having food and drink: Cosa prendi?, what are you having?

At the bar

An Italian bar is a café: coffee all day, a cornetto (croissant) at breakfast, a sandwich at lunch, a drink in the evening.

Ask for a latte and you get a glass of milk: latte is milk. Many Italians stop drinking cappuccino after the morning; nobody will refuse you one, but now you know why the barista smiles.

Pay first: la cassa and lo scontrino

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1. 1il pane
2. 2il caffè
3. 3la cassa

Il pane, the bread; il caffè, the coffee; la cassa, the till, where you often pay before you order.

In a busy bar, the order is the other way round from Britain:

1. At the cassa (till), say what you want: Un caffè e un cornetto, per favore.
2. Pay, and take the scontrino (receipt).
3. Put the receipt on the banco (counter) and order again: Un caffè, per favore.

Standing al banco is usually cheaper than sitting al tavolo, where a waiter serves you and the price goes up.

Food and drink to start with

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1. 1il pane
2. 2il formaggio
3. 3l'acqua
4. 4il succo
5. 5la frutta
6. 6la torta

Il pane, bread; il formaggio, cheese; l'acqua, water; il succo, juice; la frutta, fruit; la torta, cake.

Two you need straight away take avere, not essere:

• Ho fame. - I'm hungry. (literally: I have hunger)
• Ho sete. - I'm thirsty.

Tired is the other way round, with essere as in English: Sono stanco, or Sono stanca for a woman.

Quanto costa? Prices in euro

The verb agrees with what you are pricing: one thing, costa; more than one, costano.

• Quanto costa il pane? - How much is the bread?
• Quanto costano le mele? - How much are the apples?
• È caro. - It's expensive.

euro never changes, but the cents are regular:

Prices are written with a comma, 3,50 €, and said as euro then cents. In a hurry people drop the word: tre e cinquanta.

At the market: un chilo di mele

At a market or a shop counter you ask by weight, always with di:

• Un chilo di mele, per favore. - A kilo of apples, please.
• Mezzo chilo di pomodori. - Half a kilo of tomatoes.
• Due etti di formaggio. - Two hundred grams of cheese.

An etto is a hundred grams, and it is how Italians buy cheese and ham at a counter. A market stall, in a few lines:

Fruit and vegetables are la frutta and la verdura, both singular: Compro la frutta al mercato. Have your portafoglio (wallet) ready: many stalls still prefer cash.

Paying: il conto, per favore

In a restaurant the bill comes only when you ask: bringing it unasked would hurry you out. Tipping is not the duty it is in Britain or America. A coperto, a small charge per person for bread and the table, is often already on the bill, and leaving the coins of the change is plenty.

A bar exchange, start to finish

Mistakes English speakers make

What to do next

1. Say your usual coffee order in Italian, with vorrei and with per favore.
2. Price three things in your kitchen in euro, aloud.
3. Do the drill below.