Quel cuscino verde sembra più soffice del mio.

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Breakdown of Quel cuscino verde sembra più soffice del mio.

• quel: that
• soffice: soft
• il cuscino: the pillow

Questions & Answers about Quel cuscino verde sembra più soffice del mio.

What does quel mean, and how does it differ from the definite article il?

quel is a demonstrative adjective meaning that, used to point to a specific object (“that cushion”). il is simply the definite article the. You use quel when you want to indicate that particular item rather than just naming the item.

Why do we say quel and not quello before cuscino?

Italian demonstrative adjectives change form based on the gender, number, and first letter of the following noun:

• quel: before masculine singular nouns starting with most consonants (e.g. cuscino).
• quello: before masculine singular nouns beginning with z, s+consonant (sc, sp, st…), gn, pn, ps, x, y. Since cuscino begins with a simple “c,” we use quel.

Why is verde placed after cuscino instead of before it?

In Italian, most descriptive adjectives follow the noun:

• cuscino verde = “green cushion.”
  Certain common adjectives (bello, grande, piccolo, vecchio, nuovo, etc.) can go before or after with small changes in emphasis or style, but verde typically follows.