Quel barattolo è vecchio, ma il miele dentro è ancora dolce.

That jar is old, but the honey inside is still sweet.

Breakdown of Quel barattolo è vecchio, ma il miele dentro è ancora dolce.

• essere: to be
• vecchio: old
• ma: but
• quel: that

Questions & Answers about Quel barattolo è vecchio, ma il miele dentro è ancora dolce.

What does quel mean and how is it used in this sentence?

quel is a masculine singular demonstrative adjective meaning that. Here it points to a specific jar: quel barattolo = that jar. For items closer to the speaker you’d use questo (this), and for farther ones quel (that).

Why is it quel barattolo and not quello barattolo?

Italian has several forms of quello depending on what follows. You use quel before masculine nouns starting with a simple consonant (b, c, d, f, etc.).
• quel barattolo (b)
• quello studente (s+consonant)
• quell’amico (vowel)

Why is the adjective vecchio masculine, not feminine?

Adjectives in Italian agree in gender and number with the noun they modify. Barattolo is masculine singular, so vecchio ends in -o. If you were talking about a feminine noun (e.g. scatola), you would say scatola vecchia.

Why is miele preceded by the article il, even though it ends in -e?