Se per Pasqua viene anche mia zia, le terrò da parte un po’ di cavolfiore, perché non mangia carne.

In Italian, the present tense is very often used to talk about the future when the time is already clear from context.

Here, Se per Pasqua viene anche mia zia... means If my aunt is coming too at Easter...

Because per Pasqua already tells us this is about a future occasion, viene sounds completely natural. Italian could also say Se per Pasqua verrà anche mia zia, but the present is very common in everyday speech.

Per Pasqua means for Easter / at Easter / by Easter time, depending on context.

In this sentence, it means something like at Easter or for the Easter holiday.
Italian often uses per with holidays and special occasions:

• per Natale = at Christmas / for Christmas
• per Pasqua = at Easter / for Easter

So Se per Pasqua viene anche mia zia is literally something like If my aunt is also coming for Easter.

Anche means also / too, and its position can slightly affect what it emphasizes.

In viene anche mia zia, the focus is on mia zia:
my aunt is coming too

So the idea is that someone else is already expected, and my aunt too may come.

If you moved anche, the nuance might change a little. For example:

• Anche mia zia viene per Pasqua = My aunt too is coming for Easter
• Mia zia viene anche per Pasqua = could suggest My aunt is coming for Easter as well, perhaps in addition to other times/events

The original sentence most naturally emphasizes mia zia.

Terrò da parte comes from tenere da parte, which means:

• to set aside
• to keep aside
• to save for someone

So le terrò da parte un po’ di cavolfiore means:
I’ll set aside a bit of cauliflower for her

Here, terrò is the future tense of tenere:

• terrò = I will keep / I will set aside

This is a very useful expression in Italian:

• Ti tengo da parte un posto. = I’ll save you a seat.
• Mi ha tenuto da parte un libro. = He/She kept a book aside for me.

Le is an indirect object pronoun meaning to her.

So:

• terrò da parte un po’ di cavolfiore = I’ll set aside a bit of cauliflower
• le terrò da parte un po’ di cavolfiore = I’ll set aside a bit of cauliflower for her

The her refers to mia zia.

This is very common in Italian: the person benefiting from the action is often expressed with an indirect object pronoun.

Compare:

• Gli preparo un caffè. = I’m making him a coffee.
• Le compro un regalo. = I’m buying her a gift.

Italian usually prefers a pronoun once the person has already been identified.

Since mia zia was just mentioned, saying le is the natural next step. Repeating a mia zia would sound heavier unless you want emphasis or clarification.

So:

• Se per Pasqua viene anche mia zia, le terrò da parte... = natural
• ...terrò da parte a mia zia... = not correct in this structure
• ...terrò da parte un po’ di cavolfiore a mia zia = possible in some contexts, but less natural here than using le

The pronoun is the smoothest option.

Un po’ di means a little bit of / some.

So:

• un po’ di cavolfiore = some cauliflower / a little cauliflower

This is a very common Italian structure:

• un po’ di pane = a little bread / some bread
• un po’ d’acqua = a little water / some water
• un po’ di tempo = a little time

Because cavolfiore is being treated as food in a general quantity, Italian uses un po’ di rather than an article like un cavolfiore, which would mean a whole cauliflower.

Po’ is a shortened form of poco.

The apostrophe shows that part of the word has been dropped:

• poco → po’

So the correct spelling is un po’.

A very common mistake is writing un pò with an accent, but standard Italian uses the apostrophe, not an accent.

In Italian, when talking about a food or substance in a general sense, you often do not use an article.

So:

• non mangia carne = she doesn’t eat meat
• beve latte = he/she drinks milk
• mangio pasta = I eat pasta

If you added an article, the meaning could become more specific or sound less natural in this context.

So perché non mangia carne simply means because she doesn’t eat meat in general.

Here perché means because.

Italian perché can mean both:

• why
• because

You understand which one it is from the sentence structure.

In this sentence:

• ..., perché non mangia carne. = ..., because she doesn’t eat meat.

It introduces the reason for setting aside the cauliflower.

Yes. Se means if, and this is a normal real-life conditional pattern in Italian.

Structure:

• Se
  • present tense
• future or present in the main clause

Here:

• Se per Pasqua viene anche mia zia = If my aunt comes/is coming too at Easter
• le terrò da parte... = I’ll set aside...

This is a standard way to talk about a possible future situation.

Compare:

• Se domani piove, resto a casa. = If it rains tomorrow, I’m staying home.
• Se viene Marco, gli parlerò. = If Marco comes, I’ll speak to him.

Yes. Italian word order is flexible, and Mia zia viene anche per Pasqua or Se per Pasqua anche mia zia viene... are possible, but they do not sound exactly the same.

The original viene anche mia zia is natural because it introduces mia zia after the verb, almost like my aunt too is coming.

Italian often changes word order to manage emphasis, rhythm, or what information is new. In this sentence, placing mia zia after the verb sounds very smooth and conversational.

Terrò is the future of tenere, and tenere has an irregular future stem.

Instead of something like tenerò, Italian uses terr-:

• terrò
• terrai
• terrà
• terremo
• terrete
• terranno

Many common verbs have irregular future stems, for example:

• avere → avrò
• dovere → dovrò
• potere → potrò
• venire → verrò
• tenere → terrò

So terrò da parte simply means I will set aside / keep aside.

Yes. Cavolfiore is singular here, and that is normal.

In Italian, foods and substances are often expressed with a singular noun after a quantity phrase:

• un po’ di cavolfiore
• un po’ di riso
• un po’ di carne

Even though English uses some cauliflower, Italian still uses the singular noun because it is being treated as an uncountable food item, not as separate individual cauliflowers.

Not normally here. The standard neutral form is mia zia.

Italian family terms often behave a little differently with possessives, but zia usually takes the possessive in the normal way:

• mia madre
• mio padre
• mia zia
• mio zio

Zia mia is possible, but it sounds more marked, emotional, literary, or emphatic, rather than neutral everyday wording.

So mia zia is the ordinary choice.