Mi abuelo sabe podar las ramas sin dañar el tronco.

Mi is the possessive adjective used before a noun: mi abuelo = my grandfather.

Mío is a possessive pronoun (or used after a noun for emphasis), so you would not normally put it directly before abuelo.

• mi abuelo = my grandfather
• un abuelo mío = a grandfather of mine
• este abuelo es mío = this grandfather is mine

So in this sentence, mi abuelo is the correct form.

Here, sabe podar means knows how to prune.

Spanish often uses saber + infinitive to express knowing how to do something:

• Sé nadar = I know how to swim
• ¿Sabes cocinar? = Do you know how to cook?
• Mi abuelo sabe podar = My grandfather knows how to prune

This is different from saber meaning to know a fact:

• Sé la respuesta = I know the answer

In this sentence, it means he has the skill or know-how.

Because saber + infinitive focuses on knowledge or skill, while poder + infinitive focuses on ability/possibility or being able to.

• Mi abuelo sabe podar las ramas = My grandfather knows how to prune the branches
• Mi abuelo puede podar las ramas = My grandfather can/is able to prune the branches

In many contexts, both could make sense, but they are not identical.
This sentence emphasizes that he knows the proper technique.

Podar means to prune: to cut branches or parts of a plant/tree in a careful, controlled way so it stays healthy or grows properly.

It is more specific than a general verb like cortar (to cut).

• cortar una rama = to cut a branch
• podar un árbol = to prune a tree

So podar is the natural verb here because this is about trimming branches correctly, not just cutting randomly.

Las ramas means the branches.

In Spanish, the definite article (el, la, los, las) is often used more naturally than in English, especially when talking about things in a general-but-specific context.

Here, las ramas refers to the branches of the tree being discussed, and el tronco refers to the trunk of that tree.

Spanish often sounds more natural with the article in this kind of sentence:

• podar las ramas
• dañar el tronco

Even though English might sometimes say prune branches without damaging the trunk, Spanish commonly keeps the article.

After sin (without), Spanish usually uses an infinitive when the subject stays the same.

So:

• sin dañar el tronco = without damaging the trunk

Not:

• sin daña → incorrect
• sin dañando → not natural here

This is a very common structure:

• sin hablar = without speaking
• sin mirar = without looking
• sin tocar nada = without touching anything

Since the person doing the pruning is also the one not damaging the trunk, sin + infinitive is the normal choice.

Because this is not a subjunctive clause.
The structure is sin + infinitive, not sin que + subjunctive.

Compare:

• sin dañar el tronco = without damaging the trunk
• sin que dañe el tronco = without him damaging the trunk

The second version is possible only in a more specific sentence where you need a new clause with que. But in your sentence, the simpler and more natural form is sin dañar el tronco.

Because tronco is the direct object of dañar.

• dañar algo = to damage something

So:

• dañar el tronco = to damage the trunk

You would use a with many people or animate direct objects, but not normally with things like el tronco.

Examples:

• Veo el árbol = I see the tree
• Podo las ramas = I prune the branches
• Dañar el tronco = to damage the trunk

So el tronco is correct.

Yes, but the original order is the most neutral and natural:

Mi abuelo sabe podar las ramas sin dañar el tronco.

A basic breakdown is:

• Mi abuelo = subject
• sabe = verb
• podar las ramas = infinitive phrase acting as the thing he knows how to do
• sin dañar el tronco = additional phrase explaining how/under what condition

Spanish word order is flexible, but this version is straightforward and clear. You could move some parts for emphasis, but it may sound less neutral:

• Sin dañar el tronco, mi abuelo sabe podar las ramas.
  Grammatically possible, but less natural in ordinary conversation.

Usually yes, but in real usage it can also mean grandpa depending on tone and context.

• mi abuelo can be my grandfather
• In a warmer or more personal translation, it might be my grandpa

Spanish itself does not automatically tell you whether the tone is formal or affectionate here. That depends on context.

The ñ is pronounced like the ny sound in canyon.

So dañar sounds roughly like da-NYAR.

A few helpful pronunciation notes:

• dañar has stress on the last syllable because it ends in -r
• ñ is not the same as plain n
• podar is roughly po-DAR
• ramas is RA-mas
• tronco is TRON-co

That ñ sound is very important because changing it can create a different word or make your pronunciation unclear.

Yes. The main verb sabe is present tense, third person singular, from saber.

So the sentence means that right now / generally, your grandfather knows how to do this.

Conjugation of saber in the present:

• yo sé
• tú sabes
• él/ella/usted sabe
• nosotros sabemos
• vosotros sabéis
• ellos/ellas/ustedes saben

Since mi abuelo = he, the correct form is sabe.

Yes, you could.
Mi abuelo sabe cómo podar las ramas means My grandfather knows how to prune the branches too.

But saber + infinitive is usually simpler and more direct:

• Mi abuelo sabe podar las ramas = very natural
• Mi abuelo sabe cómo podar las ramas = also correct, slightly more explicit

Both work, but the original sentence is perfectly natural Spanish.