Mio papà torna a casa alle sette.

In Italian, possessive adjectives with singular family members usually do not take the definite article.

So:

• mio papà = my dad
• mia madre = my mother
• mio fratello = my brother

But with many other nouns, Italian normally uses the article:

• il mio libro = my book
• la mia macchina = my car

A few things can change this rule, but in a basic sentence like this, mio papà is exactly what you expect.

Both mean father/dad, but they differ in tone:

• papà = dad, more informal, warm, everyday
• padre = father, more formal or neutral

So Mio papà torna a casa alle sette sounds natural in everyday speech, like My dad comes home at seven.

Torna is the third person singular form of tornare.

The subject is mio papà, which is he:

• io torno = I return
• tu torni = you return
• lui/lei torna = he/she returns

So mio papà torna means my dad returns / comes back.

It can mean both, depending on context.

In this sentence, torna a casa is very naturally understood as:

• comes home
• comes back home
• returns home

Italian often uses tornare where English might prefer come back.

Yes, ritorna is possible, because ritornare also means to return / to come back.

However, in everyday Italian, tornare is extremely common and often sounds more natural in simple sentences like this:

• Mio papà torna a casa alle sette.

So a learner should definitely be comfortable with tornare.

In Italian, a casa is a fixed, very common expression meaning home or to/at home.

Examples:

• vado a casa = I go home
• sono a casa = I am at home
• torno a casa = I come home / return home

You normally do not use the article here.
If you said alla casa, it would usually mean to the house, referring to a specific building, not home in the general sense.

Alle sette means at seven.

It is made from:

• a = at/to
• le sette = the seven

When a combines with le, it becomes alle:

• a + le = alle

This is the normal way to say clock times in Italian:

• all’una = at one
• alle due = at two
• alle sette = at seven

Italian often drops subject pronouns because the verb ending already tells you who the subject is.

So instead of saying:

• Lui torna a casa alle sette

Italian often simply says:

• Torna a casa alle sette

In this sentence, the subject is already stated as mio papà, so adding lui would be unnecessary.

The normal word order here is very natural:

• Mio papà torna a casa alle sette.

Italian word order is often more flexible than English, but not every order sounds equally natural.

For example:

• Mio papà torna a casa alle sette. = standard, neutral
• Alle sette mio papà torna a casa. = emphasizes the time
• A casa torna alle sette mio papà. = possible in special contexts, but not the neutral beginner pattern

So for learners, the original order is the best model.

The accent in papà shows that the stress falls on the last syllable:

• pa-PÀ

This written accent is important in Italian for many words stressed on the final syllable.

Other examples:

• città
• università
• lunedì

So the accent helps both pronunciation and spelling.

A simple pronunciation guide is:

Mio papà torna a casa alle sette
MEE-oh pa-PAH TOR-na a KAH-sa AL-le SET-te

A few notes:

• mio is usually pronounced like MEE-oh
• papà has stress on the last syllable
• torna has a rolled or tapped r
• sette has a clear double tt, held a little longer than a single t

Yes. English separates these ideas differently, but Italian often uses a casa for both, depending on the verb.

Examples:

• vado a casa = I go home
• sono a casa = I am at home
• torno a casa = I come home / return home

So you understand the exact meaning from the verb, not just from a casa alone.

Yes, it is grammatically correct.

Compare:

• Mio papà torna a casa alle sette. = My dad comes home at seven.
• Mio padre torna a casa alle sette. = My father comes home at seven.

The second version sounds a bit more formal or less conversational. In everyday speech, papà is usually more natural if you are talking about your own dad.