Learn Hardcore Italian: Portami quel nastro verde: voglio legare i fiori prima che appassiscano. - Bring me that green ribbon: I want to tie the flowers before they wilt.

Portami is the affirmative imperative of portare (to bring) plus the indirect-object pronoun mi (to me). In Italian, when you give a positive command to tu, you attach object pronouns to the end of the verb:
• porta (bring!) + mi (to me) → portami (“bring me”).

Why do we use quel instead of quello or quella before nastro?

Italian demonstratives agree in gender, number and take different forms depending on the initial letter of the noun:
• quel: masc. sing. before most consonants (e.g. quel nastro)
• quello: masc. sing. before s+consonant, z, ps, gn, x, y (e.g. quello studente)
• quella: fem. sing. before consonants (e.g. quella casa)
• quell’: sing. before any vowel (e.g. quell’uva)
Here nastro is masculine singular starting with n, so we use quel.

Why is verde placed after nastro, and why doesn’t it change form?

Most Italian color adjectives come after the noun, unlike English. Verde ends in -e in the singular, so it’s the same for masculine and feminine. Only in the plural does it change to verdi (for both genders):
• un nastro verde, una foglia verde
• due nastri verdi, due foglie verdi

Why is voglio followed directly by legare without di?

Some verbs in Italian require di before an infinitive (e.g. smettere di), but volere does not. You say voglio mangiare, voglio partire, voglio legare—no di is needed.

What’s the difference between prima che appassiscano and prima di appassire?

• prima che + subjunctive is used when the subject changes and you’re talking about something before it happens: here the flowers (they) may or may not wither. So you need the subjunctive appassiscano.
• prima di + infinitive is only possible when the subject of both verbs is the same (e.g. “Finisco il lavoro prima di uscire”).

Why does appassiscano use the subjunctive instead of the indicative appassiscono?

Because prima che introduces an action that is anticipated or has not yet occurred, Italian grammar demands the subjunctive mood. Hence appassiscano (3rd pers. pl. present subjunctive) rather than appassiscono (3rd pers. pl. present indicative).

Could we replace i fiori with a pronoun and say voglio legarli?

Yes. To avoid repeating i fiori, attach the direct-object pronoun li to the infinitive: drop the final -e of legare and add li → legarli. So you get:
voglio legarli prima che appassiscano
where li = “them” (the flowers).

Is the colon (:) necessary between the two clauses?

No, it’s a stylistic choice to link purpose and request. You could use a comma or separate sentences:
• Portami quel nastro verde, voglio legare i fiori prima che appassiscano.
• Portami quel nastro verde. Voglio legare i fiori prima che appassiscano.