Preparo una mela per il mio amico.

I prepare an apple for my friend.

Breakdown of Preparo una mela per il mio amico.

• io: I
• l'amico: the friend
• preparare: to prepare
• la mela: the apple
• per: for
• il mio: my

Questions & Answers about Preparo una mela per il mio amico.

Why is it preparo (first-person singular) and not something else?

In Italian, the subject pronoun (for example io, meaning "I") is often left out when the verb form makes it clear who the subject is. So preparo already implies "I prepare." The ending -o signals that I am the one doing the action.

Why do we use una instead of un before mela?

The article (un vs. una) depends on the gender of the noun. Mela is a feminine noun, so you say una mela. For masculine nouns, you’d use un (for example, un libro).

Why do we say il mio amico instead of just mio amico?

In Italian, possessive adjectives like mio usually require the definite article (in this case il) when referring to singular nouns and not talking about close family members in the singular. Because amico is not a close family term—like padre or madre—you need il before mio amico.

What role does per play in this sentence?

Per is a preposition that can mean "for" or indicate the recipient of an action. Here, it clarifies that your friend is the beneficiary of your action: you’re preparing an apple for him.

Can we omit io (the subject pronoun) in front of preparo?

Yes. Italian allows you to drop personal pronouns because the verb ending shows who the subject is. Saying io preparo una mela per il mio amico is not wrong, but it’s more typical in normal conversation to leave out io and just say preparo una mela per il mio amico.