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Lavo la maschera prima di indossare la muta.

Lavo la maschera prima di indossare la muta.
I wash the mask before putting on the wetsuit.
From Lesson 152:Before doing something (prima di + infinitive)·Italian

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?
In Italian, when you use prima di (before) and the person doing the action is the same in both parts of the sentence (I wash, I put on), you always follow it with an infinitive verb. You don't conjugate it or use an "-ing" equivalent.
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.
What exactly is a muta?
La muta is a wetsuit or diving suit. You can guess the context here because it is paired with la maschera (the mask), making it clear that this sentence is about scuba diving or snorkeling!

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