Per favore, sparecchia la tavola e metti i piatti nel lavello.

Per favore means please. It is a polite way to soften a command.

In Italian, per favore can go at the beginning, middle, or end of a sentence:

• Per favore, sparecchia la tavola.
• Sparecchia la tavola, per favore.

Starting with per favore is very common and sounds natural.

Sparecchiare is the infinitive, meaning to clear the table.

In the sentence, sparecchia is the informal singular imperative form, used when telling one person to do something:

• infinitive: sparecchiare
• command to one person: sparecchia!

So the sentence is giving a direct instruction.

It is an -are verb. In the tu imperative, most -are verbs end in -a:

• parlare → parla
• guardare → guarda
• sparecchiare → sparecchia

That is why you see sparecchia.

Metti comes from the verb mettere (to put).

Here it is also an informal singular command:

• infinitive: mettere
• command to one person: metti!

So both sparecchia and metti are commands directed at one person.

Because they come from different verb types.

• sparecchiare is an -are verb, so the tu command ends in -a: sparecchia
• mettere is an -ere verb, so the tu command ends in -i: metti

This is a normal pattern in Italian imperatives.

In this context, la tavola often refers to the table as set for a meal, while il tavolo is more the physical piece of furniture.

So:

• apparecchiare la tavola = to set the table
• sparecchiare la tavola = to clear the table

You may hear tavolo in some contexts, but tavola is very common in expressions connected with eating.

Sparecchiare means to clear the table after a meal.

It is related to apparecchiare, which means to set the table.

So they are almost opposites:

• apparecchiare la tavola = set the table
• sparecchiare la tavola = clear the table

Italian uses definite articles much more often than English does.

So where English might say put plates in the sink, Italian often says metti i piatti nel lavello.

The article i means the and agrees with piatti, which is masculine plural.

Nel is a contraction of in + il:

• in + il = nel

So:

• nel lavello = in the sink

Italian often combines prepositions and articles this way:

• a + il = al
• di + il = del
• su + il = sul
• in + il = nel

Both can refer to a sink, but usage can vary by region and context.

Very broadly:

• lavello often suggests the kitchen sink
• lavandino often suggests the bathroom sink, though people may use it more generally too

In this sentence, lavello fits very naturally because it is talking about putting plates in the sink.

In Italian, the subject pronoun is often omitted because the verb ending already shows who the subject is.

Here:

• sparecchia
• metti

both clearly indicate the tu form, so tu is understood.

You could say Tu sparecchia..., but it is usually unnecessary and can sound marked or emphatic.

It is informal singular, used when speaking to one person you address as tu.

If you wanted to say it formally to one person, you would use:

• Per favore, sparecchi la tavola e metta i piatti nel lavello.

If you wanted to say it to more than one person, you would use:

• Per favore, sparecchiate la tavola e mettete i piatti nel lavello.

Here e simply means and, linking the two actions:

• sparecchia la tavola
• metti i piatti nel lavello

This is the most natural choice. It tells the listener to do both things.

If you changed it, the meaning or tone would also change. For example, poi would add the sense of then:

• Sparecchia la tavola, poi metti i piatti nel lavello.

That sounds more like a sequence: first clear the table, then put the plates in the sink.

It is pronounced roughly spah-REK-kyah.

A few useful pronunciation points:

• spa- like spa
• -rec- has a hard k sound
• -chia sounds like kya, not like English chee-a

That is because ch before i or e keeps the hard k sound in Italian.

So sparecchia does not sound like spare-sha.