Ti prego di chiudere la finestra prima di uscire.

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Breakdown of Ti prego di chiudere la finestra prima di uscire.

• tu: you
• la finestra: the window
• chiudere: to close

Questions & Answers about Ti prego di chiudere la finestra prima di uscire.

What does ti prego di mean?

Ti is the indirect object pronoun “to you,” and prego is the first-person singular present of pregare (“to beg/ask”). Together with di, it forms a polite request: “I beg/ask you to…” (similar to “please” in English).

Why is chiudere in the infinitive form, and can’t I use the imperative chiudi?

When you use ti prego di, the structure is pregare + di + infinitive, so you need chiudere. If you drop the “ti prego di,” you can use the imperative:
• Per favore, chiudi la finestra. (“Please close the window.”)

What is the function of prima di uscire?

Prima di + infinitive means “before [doing something]”. Here it tells us when to close the window—“before leaving.”

Could I say prima che esci instead of prima di uscire?

You could use prima che only if you follow it with the subjunctive and explicitly include the subject:
• Prima che tu esca, chiudi la finestra.
However, with the same subject doing both actions, prima di + infinitive is more common and straightforward.