Puliamo il portafiltro, a maggior ragione se è sporco.

to be

Breakdown of Puliamo il portafiltro, a maggior ragione se è sporco.

• se: if
• pulire: to clean
• sporco: dirty

Questions & Answers about Puliamo il portafiltro, a maggior ragione se è sporco.

What does puliamo mean here? Is it we clean or let’s clean?

It can be either, depending on context.

• puliamo is the 1st person plural form of pulire in the present tense.
• Literally, it can mean we clean / we are cleaning.
• But in instructions or suggestions, Italian often uses this same form as an inclusive imperative, meaning let’s clean.

In this sentence, it most likely means:

• Let’s clean the portafilter, especially if it’s dirty.

So yes, this is a very common Italian pattern: the noi form can also function as let’s ...

Why isn’t the subject noi included?

Because Italian usually omits subject pronouns when they are not needed.

The verb puliamo already tells you the subject is we.

So:

• Puliamo = we clean / let’s clean
• Noi puliamo = more emphatic, like we clean

Italian often leaves out pronouns unless the speaker wants contrast, emphasis, or clarity.

Why is there il before portafiltro? In English we might just say clean portafilter.