Il compleanno di mia zia è a maggio, e per Natale le porto sempre un libro.

In Italian, nouns often take an article where English might not. So il compleanno means the birthday.

Italian commonly uses the definite article with general or familiar nouns:

• il libro = the book
• la macchina = the car
• il compleanno = the birthday

So Il compleanno di mia zia literally means the birthday of my aunt, but in natural English we usually say my aunt’s birthday.

Italian usually expresses possession with di + noun, where English often uses ’s.

So:

• il compleanno di mia zia = my aunt’s birthday
• literally: the birthday of my aunt

This structure is extremely common in Italian:

• il libro di Marco = Marco’s book
• la casa di Anna = Anna’s house

Italian does not use an apostrophe-s possessive like English.

With singular family members, Italian often omits the article before the possessive.

So you usually say:

• mia madre = my mother
• mio fratello = my brother
• mia zia = my aunt

Not normally:

• la mia zia

However, the article can appear in some cases, especially:

1. with plural family members
   
   • i miei zii = my uncles / my aunt and uncle
2. with modified family terms
   
   • la mia cara zia = my dear aunt
3. with some less basic or altered family forms
   
   • la mia cuginetta may occur depending on style and region

So di mia zia is the normal form here.

In Italian, a is commonly used to mean in before months.

So:

• a maggio = in May
• a giugno = in June
• a dicembre = in December

This is just the standard preposition with months in many contexts.

Examples:

• Vado in Italia a luglio. = I’m going to Italy in July.
• Il corso inizia a settembre. = The course starts in September.

So è a maggio means is in May.

Usually, learners should use a maggio. That is the normal, modern choice.

You may occasionally encounter in maggio in literary, regional, or older-style language, but it is not the standard everyday form most learners should copy.

So as a rule:

• a maggio ✅
• in maggio possible in limited contexts, but not the default

Natale is often capitalized when it refers to the holiday Christmas, especially in more careful writing.

So:

• Natale = Christmas

In less formal writing, you may also see natale with a lowercase n, because Italian capitalization rules are generally less strict than English ones. But capitalizing holidays is very common and completely normal.

Here per Natale means something like for Christmas.

The idea is:

• le porto sempre un libro per Natale = I always bring/give her a book for Christmas

This expresses the occasion or purpose.

Compare:

• a Natale = at Christmas / on Christmas
• per Natale = for Christmas

Examples:

• A Natale resto a casa. = At Christmas I stay home.
• Per Natale compro dei regali. = For Christmas I buy gifts.

So in your sentence, per Natale fits because the book is a Christmas gift.

Le is an indirect object pronoun meaning to her.

So:

• le porto un libro = I bring her a book / I take her a book

Literally, it means:

• I bring a book to her

The full version would be:

• porto un libro a mia zia

But Italian often replaces a mia zia with the pronoun le:

• le porto un libro

In Italian, object pronouns like mi, ti, gli, le, ci, vi, loro usually come before the conjugated verb.

So:

• le porto = I bring her
• gli parlo = I speak to him
• ti scrivo = I write to you

That is the normal word order in a sentence with a conjugated verb.

Because le here is an indirect object pronoun, used with verbs like portare when you are giving, bringing, or taking something to someone.

Structure:

• portare qualcosa a qualcuno = to bring something to someone

So:

• porto un libro a mia zia = I bring a book to my aunt
• le porto un libro = I bring her a book

The direct object here is un libro.
The indirect object is le = to her.

Portare can mean to bring, to carry, or sometimes to take, depending on context.

In this sentence:

• le porto sempre un libro most naturally means I always bring her a book or I always give her a book

Because it is tied to Christmas, the idea is that a book is the present you give her.

So a very natural understanding is:

• I always give her a book for Christmas or
• I always bring her a book for Christmas

The Italian present tense is often used for habitual actions, just like the English present simple.

So:

• porto sempre = I always bring / I always give

This means a repeated habit, not necessarily something happening right now.

Other examples:

• La domenica mangio con la famiglia. = On Sundays I eat with the family.
• D’estate andiamo al mare. = In summer we go to the seaside.

So porto sempre means this is her usual Christmas gift.

Sempre means always.

It tells you the action is habitual:

• le porto sempre un libro = I always bring/give her a book

Its position is very natural here, between the verb and the direct object. Italian adverbs can move around somewhat, but this placement is common and clear.

Compare:

• porto sempre un libro = I always bring a book
• porto un libro sempre = possible in special contexts, but less neutral

Un libro means a book, an indefinite book, not a specific one already known to both speaker and listener.

So:

• un libro = a book
• il libro = the book

In this sentence, the idea is that each Christmas she gets a book as a gift, not necessarily one specific book already mentioned.

Yes. E simply means and.

It links the two parts of the sentence:

• Il compleanno di mia zia è a maggio
• e per Natale le porto sempre un libro

So the sentence is joining two facts about the aunt:

1. her birthday is in May
2. for Christmas, I always give her a book

Both are possible, but they are structured differently.

• Il compleanno di mia zia è a maggio = My aunt’s birthday is in May
• Mia zia compie gli anni a maggio = My aunt has her birthday in May / My aunt’s birthday is in May

The sentence you have uses the noun compleanno (birthday) as the subject.
The alternative uses the expression compiere gli anni, literally to complete years, which is another common way to talk about birthdays.

Both are natural, but Il compleanno di mia zia è a maggio is very straightforward for stating when the birthday falls.

Grammatically, yes, but it is not the most natural neutral phrasing.

Italian strongly prefers the pronoun form:

• le porto sempre un libro

Using a lei is usually for emphasis or contrast:

• A lei porto un libro, a lui porto del vino. = I bring her a book, and him some wine.

So in an ordinary sentence, le is the better choice.

Italian often drops subject pronouns because the verb ending already shows the subject.

• porto = I bring
• porti = you bring
• porta = he/she brings

So porto already tells us the subject is I.
You could say io porto, but that would usually add emphasis:

• Io porto sempre un libro = I always bring a book

Without emphasis, Italian normally leaves io out.