Mia madre lava l’uva prima di cena.

My mother washes the grapes before dinner.

Breakdown of Mia madre lava l’uva prima di cena.

• lavare: to wash
• mia: my
• prima di: before
• la madre: the mother

Questions & Answers about Mia madre lava l’uva prima di cena.

Why is it mia madre and not la mia madre?

In Italian, with close singular family members, you usually do not use the article before the possessive.

So you say:

• mia madre = my mother
• mio padre = my father
• mia sorella = my sister

But there are important exceptions. You normally do use the article with:

• plural family members: i miei genitori
• modified family nouns: la mia cara madre
• some forms like loro: la loro madre

So mia madre is the normal form here.

Why is there no subject pronoun like lei for she?

Italian often leaves out subject pronouns because the verb ending already shows who is doing the action.

Here, lava means he/she/it washes. Because of that, lei is not necessary.

So:

• Mia madre lava l’uva = My mother washes the grapes

You could say Lei lava l’uva, but that would usually be for emphasis, contrast, or clarity.

What tense is lava?