Questa nota è stonata.

Because nota is a feminine singular noun in Italian, and the demonstrative has to agree with it.

• questo = this, for masculine singular
• questa = this, for feminine singular

So:

• questo libro = this book
• questa nota = this note

In Italian, every noun has a grammatical gender, and nota happens to be feminine.

A very common pattern is:

• nouns ending in -o are often masculine
• nouns ending in -a are often feminine

So nota follows that common pattern. Its article would be la nota.

È is the third-person singular form of the verb essere = to be.

So:

• io sono = I am
• tu sei = you are
• lui/lei è = he/she/it is

In Questa nota è stonata, è links the subject questa nota with the adjective stonata.

Also note the accent: è has a grave accent. Without it, e usually means and.

Because adjectives in Italian usually agree with the noun they describe in gender and number.

Since nota is feminine singular, the adjective also has to be feminine singular:

• stonato = masculine singular
• stonata = feminine singular
• stonati = masculine plural
• stonate = feminine plural

Examples:

• Il suono è stonato.
• La nota è stonata.
• Le note sono stonate.

Literally, stonata means out of tune or off-key.

It comes from stonato / stonata, which is often used for music, singing, or sounds that are not in tune.

For example:

• una chitarra stonata = an out-of-tune guitar
• cantare stonato = to sing off-key

It can sometimes also be used more figuratively for something that feels out of place, but in this sentence the musical meaning is the natural one.

Because questa already works as a determiner, like this in English.

You normally do not say:

• la questa nota ❌

You say:

• questa nota ✅

This is parallel to English:

• this note ✅
• the this note ❌

Yes, but it means something slightly different in structure.

• Questa nota è stonata. = This note is out of tune.
• Questa è una nota stonata. = This is an out-of-tune note.

The first sentence directly talks about the note and describes it. The second first says this is..., then identifies it as an out-of-tune note.

Both are correct, but they are not structured in exactly the same way.

The normal, neutral order is:

Questa nota è stonata.

Italian can sometimes change word order for emphasis, but that is less basic and may sound marked depending on context.

For a learner, the safest standard order is:

subject + verb + adjective

So here:

• Questa nota = subject
• è = verb
• stonata = adjective

A simple pronunciation guide is:

KWE-sta NO-ta eh sto-NA-ta

A few useful points:

• qu in questa sounds like kw
• nota has a clear o
• è is pronounced like eh
• stonata has the stress on -na-: sto-NA-ta

If you say it smoothly:

KWE-sta NO-ta eh sto-NA-ta

Not always. Nota can mean different things depending on context, including:

• note in music
• note or remark
• grade/mark in school

But in Questa nota è stonata, the presence of stonata makes the musical meaning very clear, because stonata naturally goes with sounds, singing, and music.

The plural would be:

Queste note sono stonate.

Everything changes to match the plural:

• questa → queste
• nota → note
• è → sono
• stonata → stonate

So Italian agreement shows up in several words at once.

No. The basic adjective is the same word, but its ending changes to agree with the noun.

You can think of the dictionary form as stonato. Then it changes:

• stonato for masculine singular
• stonata for feminine singular
• stonati for masculine plural
• stonate for feminine plural

So stonata is not a completely different word; it is the feminine singular form of the adjective.