Breakdown of Lavo la maschera prima di indossare la muta.
lavare
to wash
prima di
before (doing something) / before (a noun / point in time)
indossare
to put on
la muta
the wetsuit
Questions & Answers about Lavo la maschera prima di indossare la muta.
In English we say "before putting on" or "before I put on". Why does Italian use the dictionary form (infinitive) indossare here?
Indossare usually means "to wear". Does it also mean "putting on"?
Yes! While English has two different expressions ("to put on" for the action, and "to wear" for the state), Italian often uses indossare (or mettersi) for both. In this context, it clearly means the action of putting the wetsuit on.
Does the preposition di ever combine with the next word here, like it does with "the"?
Not in this sentence. When di is followed by a verb in the infinitive (like indossare), it stays as its own separate word. It only combines into a single word (like del or della) when it is directly followed by a noun that uses a definite article.