"L'uomo beve sia birra che vino."

[Eylon.saadon]

why in this sentence the word "che" means and?

[f.formica]

In this case 'che' correlates with 'sia': the constructs "sia ... che ..." or "sia ... sia ..." translate to "both ... and ..." or "... as well as ...". "Neither ... nor ..." is instead usually expressed with "né ... né ...", and "either ... or ..." with "o ... o ...". Dots can be objects or subsentences.

[jeslam1]

is there certain cases for these differences, or can they be used interchangeably?

[f.formica]

"Sia ... sia ..." and "sia ... che ..." are interchangeable; the first is grammatically more correct and recommended by scholars, but the latter is more popular.

[tmac876]

Great, I had the same question. Thanks for clearing that up.

[Teresinha]

Obrigada!!! Pensei que "sia...che" fosse engano do Duo...Now it's ok!

[Nglowe]

In this case, while it could be said this means both beer and wine, wouldn't a more literal approach translate this as "The man drinks as much beer as wine?"

[f.formica]

"As much" brings quantity into the sentence, and that's expressed by "tanta birra quanto vino".

[wiplala]

why is the translation "the man drinks beer as well as wine" wrong??

[nanotech18]

I wondered the same thing... anyone know?