Learn Italian: Pulisci la maschera prima di indossarla! - Clean the mask before putting it on!

Pulisci la maschera prima di indossarla!

Clean the mask before putting it on!

Breakdown of Pulisci la maschera prima di indossarla!

pulire

to clean

her/it (direct object)

prima di

before (doing something) / before (a noun / point in time)

indossare

to put on

Questions & Answers about Pulisci la maschera prima di indossarla!

Why do we use prima di followed by the infinitive indossarla?

In Italian, the rule for saying "before doing something" is to use prima di plus the infinitive (the base dictionary form of the verb). Unlike in English, where we say "before putting" using an "-ing" word, Italian requires the infinitive here.

Why is the word la attached to the end of indossarla?

The la is a direct object pronoun meaning "it", referring back to the feminine noun la maschera (the mask). When you attach a pronoun to an infinitive verb like indossare, you drop the verb's final -e and stick the pronoun directly onto the end: indossare + la becomes indossarla.

Why is the verb pulisci instead of pulire?

The sentence gives a direct command to one person (the informal "you"), which requires the imperative form. For -ire verbs like pulire (to clean), the informal command uses the same ending as the normal present tense tu form. Because pulire is a verb that inserts -isc-, the correct form is pulisci (Clean!).

Does indossare mean "to put on" or "to wear"?

It actually means both! Italian uses indossare for both the action of putting an item on and the state of wearing it. In this sentence, the context of cleaning the mask right before use makes "putting it on" the most natural translation.