Prima di toccare la griglia del forno, prendi la presina.

Prima di means before.

In this sentence, prima di toccare... means before touching... or more naturally in English, before you touch....

A very common pattern is:

• prima di + infinitive

For example:

• Prima di uscire, chiudi la porta. = Before leaving, close the door.
• Prima di mangiare, lavati le mani. = Before eating, wash your hands.

Because after prima di, Italian often uses the infinitive when the subject is the same.

So:

• Prima di toccare la griglia... = Before touching the rack...
• literally: before to touch

This works because the person who will touch the rack is the same person being told to take the oven mitt.

Compare:

• Prima di uscire, spegni la luce. = Before leaving, turn off the light.

If the subject changes, Italian usually prefers prima che + subjunctive instead:

• Aspetta prima che lui tocchi la griglia. = Wait before he touches the rack.

Here prendi is the informal singular imperative of prendere: take.

Italian imperative forms for tu often look identical to the present tense:

• prendi = you take / take!

In this sentence, the context makes it clearly a command:

• Prima di toccare la griglia del forno, prendi la presina.
• Before touching the oven rack, take the oven mitt.

So it is understood as an instruction addressed to you.

Italian usually omits subject pronouns unless they are needed for emphasis or clarity.

So instead of saying:

• Tu prendi la presina

Italian normally just says:

• Prendi la presina

The verb ending already tells you the subject is tu.

If you added tu, it would sound more emphatic:

• Tu prendi la presina, non lui. = You take the oven mitt, not him.

Del is the contraction of:

• di + il = del

Here it means of the.

So:

• la griglia del forno
• literally: the rack of the oven
• natural English: the oven rack

This kind of structure is very common in Italian:

• la porta della casa = the door of the house / the house door
• il motore della macchina = the car’s engine

Italian uses articles more often than English does.

So where English says:

• oven rack

Italian often says:

• la griglia del forno
• literally: the rack of the oven

Both nouns take articles because that is the normal Italian structure here:

• la griglia = the rack
• del forno = of the oven

English tends to stack nouns together; Italian usually does this with di + article instead.

Here griglia means the rack or grill-like shelf inside the oven.

Depending on context, griglia can also mean:

• grill
• grid
• grate
• rack

In la griglia del forno, the intended meaning is the metal rack in the oven.

Presina is a pot holder, oven mitt, or heat-protective cloth used to handle hot cookware.

In everyday usage, presina often refers to a small padded square or similar kitchen item used to protect your hand.

A few related words:

• presina = pot holder / oven mitt
• guanto da forno = oven glove / oven mitt
• strofinaccio = dish towel / kitchen cloth

So presina is not exactly the same word as guanto da forno, but in a sentence like this the practical idea is the same: use protection before touching something hot.

The comma separates the introductory phrase from the main command:

• Prima di toccare la griglia del forno, = introductory time clause
• prendi la presina. = main clause

It helps readability and is very natural in writing.

You may sometimes see Italian omit this comma, especially in shorter or less formal writing, but with a fronted phrase like this, the comma is common and helpful.

Yes. Italian can also say:

• Prendi la presina prima di toccare la griglia del forno.

This means the same thing: Take the oven mitt before touching the oven rack.

The version with Prima di... at the beginning puts slightly more focus on the before touching part, while the reversed version starts with the main action.

Both are correct and natural.

Because prima di + infinitive is used when the subject of both actions is the same.

In this sentence, the same person:

1. touches the oven rack
2. takes the oven mitt

So:

• Prima di toccare..., prendi...

If the subject changes, Italian usually uses:

• prima che + subjunctive

For example:

• Prendi la presina prima che Marco tocchi la griglia.
• Take the oven mitt before Marco touches the rack.

So the choice depends largely on whether the subject stays the same or changes.

Yes. Prendere is a very broad verb meaning things like:

• take
• pick up
• grab
• sometimes, by context, put on or use

In this sentence, prendi la presina most naturally means:

• take/pick up the oven mitt or
• grab the pot holder

Depending on the real-world situation, English might translate it more freely as use the oven mitt.

Italian often leaves that kind of practical detail to context.

Only the command would need to change.

Informal singular (tu):

• Prima di toccare la griglia del forno, prendi la presina.

Formal singular (Lei):

• Prima di toccare la griglia del forno, prenda la presina.

Plural (voi):

• Prima di toccare la griglia del forno, prendete la presina.

The prima di toccare... part stays the same, because it is an infinitive phrase.