I mobili del soggiorno sono semplici, ma il divano è molto comodo.

In Italian, nouns are often used with an article where English might leave it out.

• i mobili = the furniture
• In this sentence, i mobili del soggiorno means the living room furniture or more literally the furniture of the living room.

Also, mobile in Italian means piece of furniture, and mobili is the plural form.

This is a very common question. English furniture is an uncountable singular noun, but Italian often uses mobili, which is a plural countable noun meaning pieces of furniture or furnishings.

So:

• il mobile = a piece of furniture
• i mobili = the furniture / the pieces of furniture

That is why the verb is plural too: sono.

Del soggiorno means of the living room.

It is made of:

• di = of
• il = the
• del = contraction of di + il

So:

• il soggiorno = the living room
• del soggiorno = of the living room

Italian often uses this of the... structure where English prefers an adjective or noun modifier. So i mobili del soggiorno literally means the furniture of the living room, but in natural English we usually say the living room furniture.

In Italian, soggiorno commonly means living room in everyday language.

Depending on context, you may also see:

• salotto = living room / sitting room / lounge
• sala da pranzo = dining room

But soggiorno is a very normal and common word for the main living area of a home.

Because the subject is plural: i mobili.

• i mobili = plural
• so the verb must also be plural: sono = are

Compare:

• Il mobile è semplice. = The piece of furniture is simple.
• I mobili sono semplici. = The furniture / the pieces of furniture are simple.

Later in the sentence, the subject changes to il divano, which is singular, so the verb becomes è.

Because adjectives in Italian must agree with the noun they describe in number, and often in gender too.

Here:

• i mobili = masculine plural
• so the adjective must be plural too: semplici

Forms of semplice:

• singular: semplice
• plural: semplici

This adjective has the same singular form for masculine and feminine, but the plural is semplici for both genders.

Examples:

• Il mobile è semplice.
• La sedia è semplice.
• I mobili sono semplici.
• Le sedie sono semplici.

Because divano is a masculine singular noun.

• il divano = masculine singular
• so the adjective must match: comodo

Agreement pattern for comodo:

• comodo = masculine singular
• comoda = feminine singular
• comodi = masculine plural
• comode = feminine plural

Examples:

• Il divano è comodo.
• La poltrona è comoda.
• I divani sono comodi.
• Le sedie sono comode.

Ma means but.

It connects two contrasting ideas:

• I mobili del soggiorno sono semplici = The living room furniture is simple
• ma il divano è molto comodo = but the sofa is very comfortable

So the speaker is contrasting simple style with high comfort.

Because molto here is an adverb meaning very, and in Italian adverbs like this usually come before the adjective they modify.

So:

• molto comodo = very comfortable

Compare:

• molto bello = very beautiful
• molto grande = very big
• molto semplice = very simple

Be careful: molto can also be an adjective meaning much/many, but here it is an adverb.

Italian uses definite articles more often than English does.

Here:

• i mobili = the furniture
• il divano = the sofa

In English, we might sometimes say living room furniture is simple, but in Italian it is more natural to include the article: i mobili del soggiorno.

This is one of the habits English speakers need to get used to: Italian often sounds more complete with articles.

Yes. Depending on context, semplice/semplici can mean:

• simple
• plain
• uncomplicated
• minimalist

In this sentence, semplici probably describes the style of the furniture, so plain or simple in design may fit well.

Yes, divano can correspond to both sofa and couch in English.

Which English word you choose depends on your variety of English and personal preference. The Italian word itself is perfectly standard.

A helpful approximate pronunciation is:

ee MOH-bee-lee del soj-JOR-no SO-no sem-PLEE-chee, ma eel dee-VAH-no eh MOL-toh ko-MOH-doh

A few useful notes:

• gi in soggiorno sounds like the j in jam
• ci in semplici sounds like chee
• è is pronounced like eh
• Italian words are usually pronounced clearly, with every vowel sounded

It has two simple clauses joined by ma:

1. I mobili del soggiorno sono semplici

   • subject: I mobili del soggiorno
   • verb: sono
   • adjective: semplici

2. il divano è molto comodo

   • subject: il divano
   • verb: è
   • adverb + adjective: molto comodo

So the pattern is:

• [subject] + [to be] + [adjective]
• ma
• [subject] + [to be] + [adverb] + [adjective]

This is a very common and useful structure in Italian.