Preparo la cena insieme a mia sorella.

I prepare dinner together with my sister.

Breakdown of Preparo la cena insieme a mia sorella.

• io: I
• preparare: to prepare
• la mia: my
• la cena: the dinner

Questions & Answers about Preparo la cena insieme a mia sorella.

Why is there a definite article la before cena?

In Italian you normally use a definite article before singular, countable nouns like cena (“dinner”). Even though in English you say “I prepare dinner,” in Italian it’s preparo la cena (“I prepare the dinner”). Meal words—la colazione, il pranzo, la cena—routinely take the article.

Why isn’t the subject pronoun io used before preparo?

Italian is a pro-drop language: the verb ending -o in preparo already tells you the subject is “I.” You can include io for emphasis or contrast (e.g. io preparo, tu guardi), but normally it’s omitted.

What does preparo mean and how is it formed?

Preparo is the first-person singular present indicative of preparare (“to prepare”). You take the stem prepar- and add -o for “I,” so preparo literally means I prepare.

Why do we say insieme a mia sorella? What is insieme here?