Questo pennello è morbido, perfetto per la pittura ad acquerello.

to be

Breakdown of Questo pennello è morbido, perfetto per la pittura ad acquerello.

• per: for
• morbido: soft
• perfetto: perfect
• il pennello: the paintbrush
• la pittura: the painting
• l'acquerello: the watercolor

Questions & Answers about Questo pennello è morbido, perfetto per la pittura ad acquerello.

What does questo mean in this sentence?

It means “this” and functions as a demonstrative adjective to specify which brush is being talked about. It agrees in gender and number with pennello (masculine singular).

How do the adjectives morbido and perfetto function here, and why is there a comma between them?

Morbido describes the inherent quality of the brush (it means “soft”), while perfetto indicates that the brush is especially well-suited for a specific purpose (it is “perfect” for watercolor painting). The comma separates these two distinct but complementary qualities for clarity, much like listing separate traits in English.

Why is the phrase ad acquerello used instead of a acquerello?

In Italian, the preposition a often contracts to ad before a vowel to ensure smoother pronunciation. Since acquerello starts with a vowel, ad is used, and the phrase ad acquerello means “for watercolor painting.”

Do the adjectives in this sentence agree with the noun they modify? How does adjective agreement work here?

Yes, both morbido and perfetto are in the masculine singular form to agree with pennello. In Italian, adjectives must match the gender and number of the nouns they describe, which is why you see these forms used.

How does the structure of this Italian sentence compare with a similar sentence in English?

The Italian sentence follows a structure similar to English. It has a subject (questo pennello meaning “this brush”), a linking verb (è for “is”), and descriptive adjectives that provide details about the subject. The additional prepositional phrase (ad acquerello) specifies the brush’s ideal use. The main difference is that in Italian, adjectives need to agree in gender and number with the noun they modify, a detail that English does not require.