Il portafiltro è pulito, allora prepariamo la dose.

to be

Breakdown of Il portafiltro è pulito, allora prepariamo la dose.

• preparare: to prepare
• pulito: clean
• allora: so

Questions & Answers about Il portafiltro è pulito, allora prepariamo la dose.

Why is it il portafiltro and not just portafiltro?

Italian often uses the definite article where English might leave it out. Il portafiltro means the portafilter.

In this sentence, the speaker is talking about a specific portafilter already known in the situation, so il is natural. In practical instructions or café contexts, Italian still commonly keeps the article: il portafiltro, la macchina, la dose, etc.

Also, portafiltro is a masculine singular noun, so it takes il.

What exactly is portafiltro grammatically?

Portafiltro is a masculine singular noun.

It is a compound word:

• porta- = carrier/holder
• filtro = filter

So literally it is something like filter-holder, which is why in coffee vocabulary it corresponds to portafilter.

Because it is masculine singular, related words must agree with it:

• il portafiltro
• è pulito

Why is it è with an accent?

È is the third-person singular form of essere (to be): is.

The accent is important because:

• è = is
• e = and

So:

• Il portafiltro è pulito = The portafilter is clean
• Il portafiltro e pulito would be incorrect

This accent is one of those small but very important spelling details in Italian.