La pedina rossa è nella prima casella.

In Italian, descriptive adjectives like rossa usually come after the noun.

So:

• la pedina rossa = the red piece

Putting the adjective before the noun is possible in some cases, but it is less neutral and often sounds literary, poetic, or stylistically marked. For a normal everyday sentence, la pedina rossa is the expected order.

Because rossa has to agree with pedina, which is a feminine singular noun.

Agreement in Italian means the adjective changes form to match the noun:

• masculine singular: rosso
• feminine singular: rossa
• masculine plural: rossi
• feminine plural: rosse

Since pedina is feminine singular, you get rossa.

Yes, pedina is a feminine noun, so it takes the feminine article la.

This grammatical gender is about the noun, not about biological sex. A game piece is not female in a real-world sense, but the word pedina is grammatically feminine, so Italian treats it that way.

That is why you have:

• la pedina
• la pedina rossa

Pedina usually means a game piece, counter, or token, especially in board games.

Depending on context, it can refer to:

• a playing piece on a board
• a counter used for moving spaces
• sometimes even a pawn in a broader or figurative sense

So in this sentence, it most likely means a game piece on a board or grid.

Because è is the verb essere in the third-person singular: is.

• è = is
• e = and

The accent is important because it distinguishes these two different words.

So:

• La pedina rossa è... = The red piece is...
• La pedina rossa e... would be wrong here, because that would mean The red piece and...

Because in Italian, in + la normally contracts into nella.

So:

• in + la = nella

This is very common with prepositions and definite articles in Italian.

For example:

• nel = in + il
• nello = in + lo
• nella = in + la
• nei = in + i
• negli = in + gli
• nelle = in + le

So nella prima casella literally breaks down as in the first square/space.

There actually is an article there, but it is built into nella.

• nella = in the
• prima casella = first square/space

So:

• nella prima casella = in the first square

The definite article la is already included inside nella, so you do not add another one.

With ordinal numbers like primo / prima (first), Italian normally puts them before the noun.

So:

• la prima casella = the first square

This is the usual and standard order.

Compare:

• il primo giorno = the first day
• la prima volta = the first time
• la prima casella = the first square

Because prima agrees with casella, which is feminine singular.

Just like other adjectives, ordinal numbers also agree with the noun:

• primo = masculine singular
• prima = feminine singular
• primi = masculine plural
• prime = feminine plural

Since casella is feminine singular, the correct form is prima.

In this context, casella usually means a square, space, or box in a board, grid, table, or form.

So depending on the situation, prima casella could be:

• the first square on a board
• the first space in a sequence
• the first box in a grid

The exact English word depends on context, but grammatically the Italian is the same.

Italian uses definite articles more often than English does, and location phrases often include them.

Here:

• la pedina = the piece
• nella prima casella = in the first square

English sometimes sounds more flexible about articles, but Italian often requires them in places where English learners may not expect them.

It follows a very straightforward pattern:

• La pedina rossa = subject
• è = verb
• nella prima casella = location phrase

So the structure is:

subject + is + location

This is very similar to English:

• The red piece is in the first square.

That is one reason this sentence is a good beginner example: the word order is fairly easy to follow.

You could, but it would sound unusual in normal everyday Italian.

The most natural version is:

• La pedina rossa è nella prima casella.

Putting rossa before pedina is grammatically possible in some stylistic contexts, but it is not the usual choice here. A learner should treat noun + color adjective as the normal pattern.

You would need to change the article and adjective endings to match the masculine noun.

For example, with il pezzo rosso:

• Il pezzo rosso è nella prima casella.

Notice:

• la pedina rossa → feminine
• il pezzo rosso → masculine

The location part stays the same if casella stays feminine singular:

• nella prima casella

You would make the subject plural, and the verb would also change.

For example:

• Le pedine rosse sono nella prima casella.

Changes:

• la → le
• pedina → pedine
• rossa → rosse
• è → sono

So Italian shows plural agreement in several places, not just in the noun.