Learn Italian: Amo mia madre e la ringrazio. - I love my mother and I thank her.

In Italian, direct object pronouns like la (her) usually go right before the conjugated verb. So, instead of saying 'I thank her' like in English, the Italian structure is literally 'I her thank' (la ringrazio).

Does la mean 'the' or 'her' in this sentence?

Here, it means 'her'. While la is very commonly used as the word for 'the' (as in la mela), it is also the direct object pronoun for a feminine singular person or thing. Because it is placed directly before a verb (ringrazio), we know it is acting as a pronoun replacing mia madre.

Why is it mia madre and not la mia madre?

Usually, Italian requires a definite article (like il or la) before possessive words (like mio or mia). However, there is a special exception for singular close family members. Because 'mother' is a singular family member, you drop the article and just say mia madre.

Where is the word for 'I' in this sentence?

In Italian, the subject is built into the verb ending itself. Both amo (I love) and ringrazio (I thank) end in -o, which is the standard ending for 'I' in the present tense. You don't need to add the pronoun io (I) unless you want to add special emphasis.