Prima di imballare i bicchieri, finiamo di disfare le scatole della cucina.

Because prima di is the normal pattern before an infinitive in Italian.

• prima di + infinitive = before doing something
• prima di imballare i bicchieri = before packing the glasses

You would not say prima a imballare here.

A useful comparison:

• Prima di uscire, chiudi la porta. = Before leaving, close the door.
• Prima di mangiare, lavati le mani. = Before eating, wash your hands.

If the subject changes, Italian often uses prima che + subjunctive instead:

• Prima di uscire, chiudo la finestra. = before leaving, I close the window.
• Prima che tu esca, chiudo la finestra. = before you leave, I close the window.

The comma separates the introductory time clause from the main clause.

• Prima di imballare i bicchieri = introductory clause
• finiamo di disfare le scatole della cucina = main clause

In English, we often do the same:

• Before packing the glasses, let’s finish unpacking the kitchen boxes.

The comma is especially common when the prima di... phrase comes first. If the order were reversed, the comma might disappear:

• Finiamo di disfare le scatole della cucina prima di imballare i bicchieri.

That version is also natural.

Imballare means to pack, to wrap up, or to crate up, especially for transport or moving.

In this sentence, it means packing the glasses so they can be moved or stored safely.

English speakers may also know other Italian verbs for to pack, such as:

• impacchettare = to wrap up / pack up
• confezionare = to package
• fare le valigie = to pack one’s bags

Here, imballare fits well because glasses are fragile and need careful packing.

Italian uses articles much more often than English does.

So where English might say:

• pack glasses

Italian often prefers:

• imballare i bicchieri

The article i suggests we are talking about a specific set of glasses, probably the ones in the kitchen or the ones being moved.

Italian often sounds incomplete without the article in cases like this.

Compare:

• Ho lavato i piatti. = I washed the dishes.
• Metti via i libri. = Put away the books.
• Imballiamo i bicchieri. = Let’s pack the glasses.

Because finire is commonly followed by di + infinitive when it means to finish doing something.

So:

• finire di fare qualcosa = to finish doing something

Examples:

• Finisco di mangiare. = I’m finishing eating.
• Abbiamo finito di studiare. = We finished studying.
• Finiamo di disfare le scatole. = Let’s finish unpacking the boxes.

This is just the standard construction of the verb.

Yes. Finiamo can mean either:

1. we finish
2. let’s finish

That is because the noi form of many verbs is identical in the present indicative and the first-person plural imperative.

So this sentence could be understood as:

• a statement: Before packing the glasses, we finish unpacking the kitchen boxes
• more naturally in context, a suggestion/invitation: Before packing the glasses, let’s finish unpacking the kitchen boxes

In real life, tone and context tell you which one is intended. In a sentence like this, the let’s... reading is very likely.

Disfare literally means to undo, to unmake, or to take apart. In practical situations, it often means to unpack.

So:

• fare una valigia = to pack a suitcase
• disfare una valigia = to unpack a suitcase

With scatole, disfare le scatole means to unpack the boxes.

It sounds a little more literal than English, as if you are undoing what was packed before.

Be careful: disfare has other meanings too depending on context:

• disfare il letto = to unmake the bed
• disfare un nodo = to undo a knot

Here it clearly means unpack.

Because della cucina means of the kitchen or more naturally from the kitchen / belonging to the kitchen.

So:

• le scatole della cucina = the kitchen boxes / the boxes from the kitchen

This tells us which boxes they are: the boxes associated with the kitchen.

By contrast, di cucina often describes type or purpose, more like for cooking or kitchen-related in a general sense. It would not be the normal choice here.

Compare:

• gli utensili da cucina = kitchen utensils
• le scatole della cucina = the boxes from the kitchen / the kitchen boxes

So della cucina identifies the boxes; it does not describe what kind of boxes they are.

Della is a contraction of:

• di + la = della

Since cucina is feminine singular, la cucina becomes della cucina after di.

Other examples:

• il libro della ragazza = the girl’s book
• la porta della casa = the door of the house
• le scatole della cucina = the boxes of/from the kitchen

This is a very common Italian way to express possession or association.

Yes, but the structure would change.

You use:

• prima di + infinitive when the subject is the same or when the action is presented generally
• prima che + subjunctive when you need a full clause with its own subject

So you could say:

• Prima di imballare i bicchieri, finiamo di disfare le scatole della cucina.
• Prima che imballiamo i bicchieri... is not correct standard Italian in this context.

If you use prima che, you normally need the subjunctive:

• Prima che imballiamo i bicchieri is wrong
• Prima che imballiamo is not the standard form
• Prima che imballiamo should be prima che imballiamo? Actually no: standard Italian requires subjunctive, so it would be prima che imballiamo only in some nonstandard usage, but not as the model to learn.
• Standard: Prima che imballiamo i bicchieri should be Prima che imballiamo? No — the correct standard form is Prima che imballiamo only if treated colloquially; learners should use Prima che imballiamo? Better avoided.
• Best standard model: Prima che imballiamo i bicchieri is not the recommended form; use prima di imballare or prima che imballiamo with a corrected subjunctive form: prima che imballiamo is still not right.

To keep it simple and correct: in this sentence, prima di imballare is the natural choice.

A clear example of prima che with different subjects:

• Chiudi la finestra prima che i bambini entrino. = Close the window before the children come in.

Not exactly as a fixed idiom in this sentence. Here it is being used literally: to unpack the boxes.

However, English speakers should be aware of a completely different expression:

• rompere le scatole = to annoy someone / to be a pain

So:

• disfare le scatole = literal, unpack the boxes
• rompere le scatole = idiomatic, annoy someone

They are not related in meaning, even though both contain scatole.

Yes. Italian is fairly flexible with word order.

These are all possible:

• Prima di imballare i bicchieri, finiamo di disfare le scatole della cucina.
• Finiamo di disfare le scatole della cucina prima di imballare i bicchieri.

The meaning stays basically the same.

Putting prima di imballare i bicchieri first gives it more prominence, as if the speaker is setting the plan or sequence first.

Because Italian usually drops subject pronouns when the verb ending already makes the subject clear.

• finiamo already tells you the subject is noi = we
• so noi is unnecessary unless you want emphasis or contrast

Examples:

• Finiamo di disfare le scatole. = We finish / Let’s finish unpacking the boxes.
• Noi finiamo di disfare le scatole. = We finish unpacking the boxes.
  This sounds more emphatic, like we do it.

This is one of the biggest differences from English, where the subject usually has to be stated.

Because both are dependent on another expression:

• prima di imballare: the infinitive follows prima di
• finiamo di disfare: the infinitive follows finire di

So neither verb is the main finite verb of the sentence. The only fully conjugated verb here is finiamo.

Structure:

• Prima di
  • imballare
• finiamo di
  • disfare

This is very common in Italian and worth getting used to.