Breakdown of È proprio con quel temperamatite che affilo le matite prima di disegnare un’altra palma.
essere
to be
di
of
con
with
che
that
quel
that
prima
before
disegnare
to draw
la matita
the pencil
le
the
la palma
the palm tree
il temperamatite
the pencil sharpener
proprio
very
affilare
to sharpen
un’altra
another
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Questions & Answers about È proprio con quel temperamatite che affilo le matite prima di disegnare un’altra palma.
What does the construction È proprio con… che do in this sentence?
This is a cleft (or “emphatic”) structure that highlights quel temperamatite as the very tool used. In English you’d say “It’s exactly with that pencil sharpener that I sharpen the pencils…”—the focus is on quel temperamatite.
What does proprio add here?
Proprio is an intensifier meaning “exactly” or “just.” It stresses that it’s precisely that pencil sharpener (and no other) that the speaker uses.
Why is che needed after quel temperamatite? Isn’t that redundant?
In an Italian cleft sentence you always use che to link the emphasized element to the rest of the clause. It’s not the relative-pronoun che, but a focus particle: without it the structure wouldn’t work.
Why is the demonstrative quel and not quello or quell’?
Temperamatite is masculine singular and begins with a simple consonant (T), so the correct form is quel. You’d use quello before z, s + consonant, gn, etc., and quell’ before a vowel.
What’s the difference between temperamatite and temperino?
Both mean “pencil sharpener.” Temperamatite is the full noun (literally “sharpener of pencils”), while temperino is a shorter or diminutive form often used colloquially.
Why are the pencils le matite in the plural?
Because the speaker sharpens more than one pencil before drawing. In Italian, when you talk about sharpening multiple pencils, you use the plural direct object le matite.
How does prima di disegnare work grammatically?
Prima di is a preposition meaning “before.” It’s followed by an infinitive, so prima di disegnare means “before drawing.” It introduces the prior action.
Why is un’altra written with an apostrophe before palma?
Altra is feminine singular, and because palma starts with a vowel, the a in altra drops and becomes un’altra (“another”), with the apostrophe marking the elision.
Could you say the sentence more simply without the cleft?
Yes. A neutral ordering is:
Affilo le matite con quel temperamatite prima di disegnare un’altra palma.
This conveys the same idea but without the special emphasis on the sharpener.