"Grazie per il cibo che stiamo per ricevere."

Translation: Thank you for the food we are about to receive.

[adri.fra]

"thanks for the food we are to receive" wouldn't be a correct translation? I means the same thing...

[abshirdi]

Yes, adri.fra, as far as I know, your translation is also correct.

[Shirin-Rose]

why not "that we are receiving"?

[Tongue-twisted]

You have not yet received the food - it is about to be brought to the table. So basically it is still in the kitchen…and when you translate it with "that we are receiving" it indicates that the food is in the midst being brought to you at that very moment, which isn't the case.

[CreyB]

The sentence uses the inifinitive form of the verb "ricevere" -- to receive. So, the literal translation would generally use that form.
The translation meaning "we are receiving" implies something that is happening right now. In Italian, that is generally done using the gerund form, something like "Grazie per il cibo stiamo ricevendo".

[ElHeim]

Also, the "stare per <verb>" construction suggests "about to <doing something>"

[Shirin-Rose]

Oh right, thanks :) I got confused because it uses stiamo, but forgot it should've had the ricevendo form to mean what I thought it did.

[MikeLyons85]

We are to receive was rejected! Not a happy bunny -again!

[Pearl2011]

Why do I have the sense we're learning to translate a piece of biblecle quotes here? It's the only place I would ever expect this translation to be found..

[adri.fra]

I thought that is directly out of my pre-meal prayers haha

[mgarado]

It's from a standard form of Grace that I learned as a child.

[n.damico32]

I translated it exactly (and not literally as the prayer before eating) since there was no word meaning "about".

[priest18]

is the "about" actually necessary?