Preparo una torta di compleanno per mia sorella.

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Breakdown of Preparo una torta di compleanno per mia sorella.

• di: of
• preparare: to prepare
• per: for
• la mia: my
• la sorella: the sister
• il compleanno: the birthday
• la torta: the cake

Questions & Answers about Preparo una torta di compleanno per mia sorella.

What does Preparo mean in this sentence?

Preparo is the first-person singular present form of the verb preparare, which means "to prepare" or "to make." In the sentence, it means "I prepare," indicating that the speaker is making or getting ready something—in this case, a cake.

How is the phrase una torta di compleanno structured, and what does it convey?

The phrase breaks down as follows: una is an indefinite article meaning "a," torta means "cake," and di compleanno specifies the type or occasion by literally translating as "of birthday" (which is equivalent to "birthday" in English when placed after the noun). Together, una torta di compleanno means "a birthday cake."

Why is the preposition per used in per mia sorella and not a or another preposition?

In Italian, per is used to indicate the beneficiary or recipient, translating to "for" in English. Per mia sorella clearly means "for my sister." Using a in this context would suggest something different, like direction toward a place or person, rather than indicating the intended recipient of the cake.

Why is the possessive adjective mia placed before the noun sorella?

In Italian, possessive adjectives such as mia (meaning "my") conventionally come before the noun they modify. So, mia sorella is the standard way to say "my sister." Although there are exceptions in Italian regarding adjective placement for stylistic or emphatic reasons, this is the most common structure.

How does the word order in this Italian sentence compare to typical English sentence structure?

The Italian sentence Preparo una torta di compleanno per mia sorella follows a subject-verb-object order common in English: "I prepare a birthday cake for my sister." One notable difference is in the modifier placement; in Italian, the descriptive phrase di compleanno comes after the noun (torta), whereas in English the adjective "birthday" typically comes before "cake." This difference in modifier position is a feature learners should keep in mind when constructing similar sentences in Italian.