Mi porti un bicchiere d’acqua fresca, per favore.

Mi is the object pronoun meaning to me or for me.

So Mi porti... literally has the idea of you bring to me..., even though in natural English we usually just say bring me....

In Italian, these short pronouns often come before the verb:

• mi = to me / me
• ti = to you
• gli / le = to him / to her

So Mi porti un bicchiere... means bring me a glass...

In this sentence, porti is most naturally understood as the formal singular imperative of portare.

Italian uses the Lei form to speak politely to one person, and the formal imperative uses the same form as the present subjunctive:

• portare → porti for Lei

So:

• Mi porti un bicchiere d’acqua fresca, per favore. = a polite request to one person

A native speaker would understand this as something like:

• Please bring me a glass of cool water.
• Could you bring me a glass of cool water, please?

It is most likely formal.

That is because porti in a request like this usually points to the Lei form, which is the polite way to address one person.

The subject Lei is not stated, but it is understood:

• (Lei) mi porti un bicchiere d’acqua fresca, per favore.

If you were speaking informally to a friend, you would more commonly say:

• Portami un bicchiere d’acqua fresca, per favore.

So the sentence you were given sounds like you are addressing someone politely, for example:

• a waiter
• a hotel employee
• someone you do not know well

Yes. Porti can also be the tu form of the present tense:

• tu porti = you bring / you carry

So out of context, mi porti could also mean you bring me.

But in this sentence, because it is a polite request with per favore, the most likely interpretation is the formal imperative addressed to Lei.

So grammatically there is some ambiguity, but in real life the context usually makes the intended meaning clear.

Because Italian places object pronouns differently depending on the verb form.

With a formal imperative like porti, the pronoun normally goes before the verb:

• Mi porti...

With an informal affirmative imperative like porta, the pronoun is attached to the end:

• Portami...

Compare:

• Mi porti un bicchiere d’acqua fresca, per favore. = formal
• Portami un bicchiere d’acqua fresca, per favore. = informal

This is a very common pattern in Italian.

Because Italian often expresses quantities with the pattern:

container/measure + di + substance

So:

• un bicchiere d’acqua = a glass of water
• una tazza di tè = a cup of tea
• un litro di latte = a liter of milk

Here, bicchiere is the container or measure, and acqua is the substance inside it.

This is exactly like English a glass of water.

Because di is shortened before a vowel. This is called elision.

So:

• di acqua → d’acqua

The apostrophe shows that the final vowel of di has been dropped.

This is very common in Italian:

• d’acqua
• d’oro
• d’amore

So un bicchiere d’acqua is simply the normal written form of un bicchiere di acqua.

Because this sentence is talking about water in a general, non-specific way.

After words of quantity or measure, Italian often uses plain di:

• un bicchiere d’acqua
• una bottiglia di vino
• un po’ di pane

Using dell’acqua is possible in some contexts, but it usually sounds more like some of the water or refers to a less general quantity.

In a basic request like this, un bicchiere d’acqua is the most natural choice.

Bicchiere usually means glass.

It can refer to:

1. the physical drinking glass itself
2. a glassful of something

In this sentence, it means a glass of water.

If you wanted cup, Italian would usually use:

• tazza = cup
• tazzina = small cup, often for coffee

So bicchiere is the normal word for a drinking glass.

Because it agrees with acqua, which is feminine singular.

In Italian, adjectives must agree in gender and number with the noun they describe:

• acqua fresca = fresh/cool water
• vino fresco = cool wine
• bevande fresche = cool drinks

Since acqua is feminine singular, the adjective is fresca, not fresco.

It describes acqua.

You can tell from the agreement:

• bicchiere is masculine
• acqua is feminine
• fresca is feminine

So fresca matches acqua.

If it described bicchiere, it would have to be fresco:

• un bicchiere fresco = a cool glass

But that is not the meaning here. The water is cool, not the glass.

Not exactly.

Fresca usually means cool, fresh, or pleasantly cool.

So acqua fresca is often:

• cool water
• refreshing water

If you want to say cold water, especially distinctly cold, Italian more often uses:

• acqua fredda

So the difference is roughly:

• fresca = cool / refreshing
• fredda = cold

Per favore means please.

It makes the sentence more polite and softer.

You can place it in different positions:

• Mi porti un bicchiere d’acqua fresca, per favore.
• Per favore, mi porti un bicchiere d’acqua fresca.

Both are natural. Putting it at the end is very common in everyday speech.

Yes, sometimes.

For example, in a café or restaurant, you might simply say:

• Un bicchiere d’acqua fresca, per favore.

That is completely natural because it is obvious the drink is for you.

But mi makes the request more explicit:

• Mi porti un bicchiere d’acqua fresca, per favore.

So leaving it out is possible, but including it is also natural and clear.

The most common informal version is:

Portami un bicchiere d’acqua fresca, per favore.

Here:

• porta = informal imperative of portare
• -mi = attached pronoun meaning to me

So:

• Mi porti... = formal
• Portami... = informal

That contrast is very useful to learn, because Italian changes both the verb form and the pronoun position.