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Preparo la cena insieme a mia sorella.

Preparo la cena insieme a mia sorella.
I prepare dinner together with my sister.
FromLesson 33inHardcore Italian

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?
Insieme is an adverb meaning together. When you specify the person you’re with, you add the preposition a, so insieme a = together with. Thus preparo la cena insieme a mia sorella means “I prepare dinner together with my sister.”
Could I use con instead of insieme a?
Yes. Preparo la cena con mia sorella is perfectly correct and common. Con simply means “with,” while insieme a stresses the idea of doing something side-by-side (together with).
Why is it mia sorella and not la mia sorella?
In Italian you drop the definite article before a singular, unmodified family member when using a possessive. So you say mia sorella, mio padre, tuo fratello. You include the article with plural family terms (le mie sorelle) or when the noun has another modifier (la mia cara sorella).
Can I say faccio la cena instead of preparo la cena?
Colloquially people do say faccio la cena (“I make dinner”) since fare means “to make/do.” But preparare is more precise for cooking or getting a meal ready. Using preparo la cena highlights the act of preparing/cooking dinner.
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