Prima di preparare la cena, controllo sempre la lista della spesa.

Because Italian uses prima di + infinitive to mean before doing something when the subject is the same in both parts of the sentence.

So:

• Prima di preparare la cena, controllo... = Before preparing dinner, I check...

The person who checks the list and the person who prepares dinner is the same person, so Italian uses the infinitive preparare.

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

• Prima che tu prepari la cena, controllo la lista. = Before you prepare dinner, I check the list.

It is in the infinitive because it comes after di in the structure prima di + infinitive.

This is very common in Italian:

• prima di uscire = before going out
• prima di mangiare = before eating
• prima di studiare = before studying

So prima di preparare la cena is a normal grammatical pattern.

In Italian, subject pronouns are often omitted because the verb ending already shows who is doing the action.

• controllo = I check
• controlli = you check
• controlla = he/she checks

So controllo sempre la lista della spesa already clearly means I always check the shopping list.

You can add io for emphasis or contrast:

• Io controllo sempre la lista della spesa, lui no. = I always check the shopping list, he doesn’t.

Italian uses the present tense for habitual actions, just like English simple present.

• controllo sempre = I always check

This sentence describes something the speaker regularly does, not something happening only right now.

So the present tense is exactly what you would expect here.

Sempre means always. It shows that the action is habitual.

In this sentence:

• controllo sempre la lista della spesa = I always check the shopping list

Its position is very natural here: after the verb and before the object.

You may also hear slightly different placements depending on emphasis, for example:

• Controllo sempre la lista della spesa.
• Controllo la lista della spesa sempre.
  This is possible, but less neutral and often sounds more marked.

The version in your sentence is the most standard and natural.

Italian often uses the definite article where English does not.

So:

• preparare la cena = to prepare dinner
• fare la colazione = to have breakfast
• mangiare il pranzo can occur, though often just pranzare or mangiare

With meals, article usage can vary depending on the expression, but preparare la cena is very normal and idiomatic.

Della is the contraction of di + la.

• di = of
• la = the
• della = of the

So literally:

• la lista della spesa = the list of the shopping

But in natural English, this is simply:

• the shopping list

This is the standard Italian expression for shopping list.

Here spesa refers to shopping for food/household items, especially groceries.

So:

• fare la spesa = to do the shopping / to buy groceries
• lista della spesa = shopping list / grocery list

On its own, spesa can also mean expense or cost in other contexts, but in this sentence it clearly means shopping, especially grocery shopping.

Yes, you could, but the nuance is slightly different.

• preparare la cena = prepare dinner / get dinner ready
• cucinare la cena = cook dinner

Preparare is a bit broader. It can include getting ingredients ready, organizing things, and making the meal.
Cucinare focuses more specifically on the cooking itself.

So the original sentence sounds very natural, especially if the idea is before I start getting dinner ready.

The comma separates the introductory part of the sentence from the main clause:

• Prima di preparare la cena, / controllo sempre la lista della spesa.

This is very common in Italian, just as in English with introductory phrases.

In a short sentence, the comma may sometimes be omitted, but using it here is clear and natural.

The given word order is very natural, but Italian allows some flexibility.

Standard version:

• Prima di preparare la cena, controllo sempre la lista della spesa.

You could also say:

• Controllo sempre la lista della spesa prima di preparare la cena.

This means the same thing, but the focus feels a little different. The original sentence emphasizes the before preparing dinner part first.

So yes, the word order can change, but the version you have is perfectly standard.

If one person checks the list and another person prepares dinner, Italian would not normally use prima di + infinitive.

Instead, it would use prima che + subjunctive:

• Prima che mia madre prepari la cena, controllo sempre la lista della spesa. = Before my mother prepares dinner, I always check the shopping list.

So remember:

• same subject → prima di + infinitive
• different subject → prima che + subjunctive

No, and this is an important false friend.

In Italian, controllare often means:

• to check
• to inspect
• to verify

So here:

• controllo la lista della spesa = I check the shopping list

It does not mean I control the shopping list in the English sense.

If you want the English idea of to control as in manage or have power over, Italian often uses other verbs depending on context, such as controllare in some cases, but also gestire, dominare, or tenere sotto controllo. In this sentence, the meaning is clearly check.