Se non piove, mettiamo il tavolo nel cortile e ceniamo lì.

In Italian, the present tense is very often used to talk about the near future or a planned future action, especially when the context already makes the time clear.

So:

• Se non piove = If it doesn’t rain
• mettiamo il tavolo = we’ll put the table
• ceniamo lì = we’ll have dinner there

This is completely natural in everyday Italian.

You could also say:

• Se non piove, metteremo il tavolo nel cortile e ceneremo lì.

That is more explicitly future, but it often sounds a bit more formal or less conversational.

After se meaning if, Italian normally uses the present indicative for a real, possible condition in the future.

So Italian prefers:

• Se non piove, ...

not

• Se non pioverà, ... in this kind of sentence

This is a very important pattern:

• Se ho tempo, vengo.
• Se fa bel tempo, usciamo.
• Se non piove, ceniamo fuori.

English often uses a present tense here too: If it doesn’t rain..., so this part lines up nicely with English.

Because se introducing a normal, real condition usually takes the indicative, not the subjunctive.

This sentence is describing a realistic possibility:

• If it doesn’t rain, we’ll...

So Italian uses the indicative:

• se non piove

The subjunctive is generally not used after se in this kind of conditional structure.

Italian usually drops subject pronouns when they are not needed, because the verb ending already shows the subject.

Here:

• mettiamo = we put / we’ll put
• ceniamo = we dine / we’ll have dinner

The ending -iamo clearly tells you the subject is noi.

You could say noi mettiamo... e ceniamo... if you wanted emphasis, but it is not necessary.

Yes. Mettere il tavolo nel cortile means to put/move the table into the courtyard.

It is natural if you mean physically placing the table there.

A useful distinction:

• mettere il tavolo = put the table somewhere
• apparecchiare la tavola = set the table

So if the focus is on moving the table outside, mettere is the right verb.

Nel is a contraction of:

• in + il = nel

So:

• nel cortile = in the courtyard / into the courtyard

Italian often uses these combined forms:

• nel = in the
• sul = on the
• dal = from the
• al = to the

Here, nel cortile is the normal way to say that the table is being placed in that location.

Sometimes yes, but the meaning and feel can differ.

• nel cortile points more clearly to the courtyard as a specific place
• in cortile can sound a little more like out in the courtyard / in the courtyard area

In this sentence, nel cortile is very natural because there is a specific table being placed in a specific courtyard.

Yes, both lì and là can mean there, and in many contexts they are very similar.

• lì often feels a bit more specific: right there / there
• là can feel a bit broader or more general: over there

In everyday speech, the difference is often small.

So these are both possible:

• ceniamo lì
• ceniamo là

In your sentence, lì works very naturally to refer back to nel cortile.

Putting lì at the end is the most natural word order here.

• ceniamo lì = we have dinner there

Italian often puts short adverbs of place like qui, lì, là after the verb.

You could move it for emphasis in some contexts, but the usual form is:

• ceniamo lì

Cenare specifically means to have dinner / to dine.

Mangiare means to eat in a general sense.

So:

• ceniamo lì = we’ll have dinner there
• mangiamo lì = we’ll eat there

Both are possible, but ceniamo is more precise because it tells you the meal is dinner.

It is standard and very helpful.

When the if-clause comes first, Italian normally separates it with a comma:

• Se non piove, mettiamo il tavolo nel cortile e ceniamo lì.

This makes the structure easier to read.

If the main clause comes first, the comma is often not used:

• Mettiamo il tavolo nel cortile e ceniamo lì se non piove.

Yes. A very natural alternative is:

• Se non piove, metteremo il tavolo nel cortile e ceneremo lì.

This is grammatically correct, but it may sound a little less conversational than the present-tense version.

Italian often prefers the present tense for plans or likely future actions, especially in speech. That is why the original sentence sounds so normal.