Learn Hardcore Italian: I colori vivaci con cui riempie la tavolozza rendono il murale davvero unico. - The bright colors with which he fills the palette make the mural truly unique.

con cui literally means “with which.” In Italian, when a relative pronoun follows a preposition (here con), you must use cui, not che. So con cui riempie la tavolozza = “with which he/she fills the palette.”

Why is the verb riempie in the singular form and not plural like rendono?

The verb riempie belongs to the relative clause con cui riempie la tavolozza. Its subject is the implied painter (he/she), not i colori vivaci. That painter “fills” the palette, so you use third-person singular (riempie). In contrast, rendono agrees with the main subject i colori vivaci (“the bright colors”), which is plural.

Why is the main verb rendono plural?

The main clause is I colori vivaci … rendono il murale davvero unico. Since i colori vivaci is masculine plural, the verb rendere (“to make”) takes the third-person plural form rendono (“they make”).

Why does vivaci end in -i, and does it change with gender?

Vivace is a two-ending adjective: it ends in -e for singular (masculine and feminine) and -i for plural. Here i colori is plural, so you get vivaci. Whether the colors were feminine (e.g., “le tonalità vivaci”), you’d still use vivaci in the plural.

Can we place vivaci before the noun, as in i vivaci colori?

Yes. Italian generally puts descriptive adjectives after the noun for a neutral tone (i colori vivaci), but you can move them before for emphasis or style (i vivaci colori). The meaning stays essentially the same, though the emphasis shifts to the adjective.

Why is it davvero unico and not davvero unici?

Davvero is an adverb meaning “truly/really.” It modifies the adjective unico. The adjective unico refers to il murale (singular masculine), so it remains singular (unico). If you were describing “the murals” (plural), you’d say davvero unici.

Could we move davvero elsewhere in the sentence?

Yes, Italian adverbs are quite flexible. You could say:

rendono davvero unico il murale
rendono il murale davvero unico
Both are acceptable; the position you choose can slightly change the rhythm or emphasis.

What does murale mean, and why does it look like an adjective?

In Italian murale is a noun meaning “mural” (a wall painting). It looks like an adjective in English, but here it’s a masculine singular noun: il murale. Some words can serve as both adjectives and nouns, depending on context.

Could I rewrite the clause con cui riempie la tavolozza using di instead of con?

You could say riempie la tavolozza di colori vivaci, which is a direct construction (“fills the palette with bright colors”). However, to turn colori vivaci into the subject of the main clause, you need a relative construction. If you tried di cui riempie la tavolozza, it would mean “of which he/she fills the palette,” which sounds odd in Italian. So con cui is the correct choice here.

Is there an alternative to con cui using a more explicit relative pronoun?

Yes, you could use the full form con i quali (masculine plural):
I colori vivaci, con i quali riempie la tavolozza, rendono il murale davvero unico.
This is more formal and explicitly agrees in number and gender with colori, but con cui is shorter and equally correct.