Learn Hardcore Italian: Io innaffio le piante in giardino ogni mattina. - I water the plants in the garden every morning.

In Italian, subject pronouns like Io (I) are usually optional because the verb ending already tells you who is doing the action. Here, innaffio clearly means “I water.” You include Io only for:

Emphasis (e.g. Io innaffio, tu dormi!)
Contrast (e.g. Io innaffio, ma lei non lo fa)
Otherwise, you can simply say Innaffio le piante… and it’s perfectly natural.

What does innaffio mean, and what person and tense is it?

Innaffio is the first-person singular present indicative of the verb innaffiare, which means to water (as in watering plants). Breaking it down:

Verb: innaffiare
Person/number: first-person singular (I)
Tense/mood: present indicative (I water / I am watering)

Why is the article le used before piante? Could I say delle piante instead?

Le is the feminine plural definite article (“the”) matching piante (plants), which is feminine plural. You use le piante when you mean the plants you’ve already mentioned or that are clear from context. If you say delle piante, you’re saying “some plants” (indefinite). That changes the meaning slightly:

Innaffio le piante… “I water the plants…”
Innaffio delle piante… “I water some plants…”

Why do we say in giardino and not a giardino or nel giardino?

Place prepositions in Italian follow patterns:

in giardino (in + no article) is the idiomatic way to say “in the garden.”
nel giardino (in + il) is grammatically correct (“in the garden”), but sounds more formal or specific (e.g. “in the garden” as opposed to other gardens).
a giardino is never used; a goes with locations like a casa, a scuola, a teatro, but in giardino is fixed.

What does ogni mattina literally mean? Are there alternative ways to say “every morning”?

Ogni mattina literally means every morning. You can also say:

Tutte le mattine (all the mornings)
Ogni giorno di mattina (every day in the morning) – less common
Both convey the same habit of doing something each morning.

Could you change the word order? For example, start with Ogni mattina innaffio le piante in giardino?

Yes. Italian is quite flexible with adverbial phrases:

Ogni mattina innaffio le piante in giardino.
In giardino ogni mattina innaffio le piante.
All of these sound natural. Moving ogni mattina to the front simply emphasizes the time (“Every morning…”).

Why is the simple present innaffio used for a habitual action? In English we use “I water…” as well, but what about progressive forms?

Italian doesn’t use a continuous/progressive form the way English does (I am watering). The simple present (innaffio) covers both:

An action happening right now (“I’m watering the plants now.”)
A habitual action (“I water the plants every morning.”)
You wouldn’t say sto innaffiando for a routine; that form is only for actions in progress at the moment of speaking.

How do I pronounce the double “n” in innaffio, and why is it doubled?

In Italian, double consonants are held longer than single ones. For innaffio, you pronounce the “n” sound twice in a row: [ɪnˈnaf.fjo]. The verb comes from Latin in- + afficāre, and the assimilation turned “in-affiare” into innaffiare with two Ns. Making the consonant long is essential—for example, pala (shovel) vs. palla (ball). Here, mispronouncing a single “n” might lead to misunderstanding or just sound non-native.