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Finiamo di preparare lo studio e il microfono.

Finiamo di preparare lo studio e il microfono.
We finish preparing the studio and the microphone.
From Lesson 151:Linking verbs with 'di' (di + infinitive)·Italian

Questions & Answers about Finiamo di preparare lo studio e il microfono.

Why is there a di between finiamo and preparare?
Many Italian verbs require a specific preposition to connect them to another action (an infinitive verb). Finire (to finish) always takes the preposition di when it is followed by another verb. So, "to finish doing something" is always translated using finire di followed by the infinitive.
In English we say "finish preparing". Why doesn't Italian use the "-ing" equivalent (preparando) here?
When a verb directly follows a preposition like di, Italian always uses the infinitive form (the base form ending in -are, -ere, or -ire). Because of the preposition di, you must use preparare, not the gerund preparando.
Why does the sentence use lo for studio but il for microfono?
Both are masculine singular words, but they start with different sounds. You must use the definite article lo before words starting with an "s" followed by another consonant (like studio). You use il for most other consonants, like the "m" in microfono.
I remember that finire is an "-isc-" verb (like capire). Why is it finiamo and not finisciamo?
Verbs in the "-isc-" group only add those extra letters in the io, tu, lui/lei, and loro forms. The noi and voi forms don't use the infix and are conjugated normally. That is why it is io finisco but noi finiamo.

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