mangerebbe

Mangerebbe is the third-person singular form of the Italian verb mangiare in the conditional present. It expresses a hypothetical action, often translated as "he/she would eat." The verb comes from the infinitive mangiare (to eat) and uses the standard conditional endings -ebbe for the third person singular, yielding mangerebbe, mangerebbe. The full set of present conditional forms for mangiare is: mangerei, mangeresti, mangerebbe, mangeremmo, mangereste, mangerebbero.

Usage in Italian centers on hypotheticals, polite requests, and reported statements about what someone would eat under certain conditions. The conditional presents often appear in main clauses following si + conditional markers, or in dependency on a hypothetical clause introduced by se. For example, Se avesse fame, mangerebbe volentieri una pizza. In everyday speech, mangerebbe can also appear in reported speech to convey what someone said they would eat.

Common constructions include combining mangerebbe with adverbs or adjectives to express preference or willingness, such as mangerebbe volentieri (would eat gladly) or mangerebbe subito (would eat immediately). It can also appear in conditional requests or softened statements, contributing to a polite or speculative tone: Potrebbe mangiare? or Carebbe se mangerebbe qualcosa di leggero?

Related topics include the verb mangiare, the present conditional in Italian, and how the conditional interacts with subordinate clauses in hypothetical or polite contexts. The form is standard across Italian varieties and used in formal and informal registers alike.