Learn Hardcore Japanese: kono mati ha utukusii desu.

In this sentence, 町 is read まち (machi), meaning town. It generally reads まち when it's used on its own. In compounds such as 町長, it's read ちょう (chō).

What does この mean, and why can't we say これ町?

この is a demonstrative adjective meaning this [noun]. It must directly modify a noun (e.g., この町 = this town). これ on its own is a pronoun meaning this thing and cannot precede another noun.

What role does the particle は play here, and why not が?

は is the topic marker, highlighting この町 as the topic of the sentence: As for this town. Use は when describing or commenting on something already introduced. が is the subject marker, indicating new or emphasized information. Saying この町が美しいです could imply It is this town (and not another) that is beautiful.

Why is は pronounced wa instead of ha here?

When は functions as the topic particle, it's pronounced wa. The spelling remains は, but you always say wa for the topic marker.

Why is 美しい placed at the end of the sentence, and is that normal?

Japanese follows a topic–comment or SOV (subject–object–verb) order, so predicates (verbs and adjectives) come last. Here, 美しい is the predicate describing the topic この町. This placement is standard in Japanese.

What part of speech is 美しい, and how do adjectives work as predicates?

美しい is an い-adjective. In Japanese, i-adjectives can end a sentence and function like verbs, so you don’t need a separate to be verb. For example, この町は美しい (plain form) means This town is beautiful. I-adjectives can also conjugate themselves for tense and negation (e.g., 美しくない, 美しかった).

Why do we add です after 美しい, and what effect does it have?

です is the polite copula. Adding です to an i-adjective (making 美しいです) doesn’t change its meaning; it only adjusts the sentence to a polite register.

Can we say この町は美しい without です, and what changes?

Yes. この町は美しい is the plain form, suitable for casual contexts. Dropping です makes the sentence less formal, but it still means This town is beautiful.

How does 美しい differ from 綺麗な when saying beautiful?

美しい is an い-adjective that emphasizes inherent or elegant beauty, often more literary or formal.
綺麗な is a な-adjective that can mean beautiful, clean, or neat, and it's common in everyday speech.
Example:
美しい景色 (beautiful scenery)
綺麗な景色 (pretty/clean scenery)

Why are there spaces between words in this example, and how is Japanese usually written?

Standard Japanese writing does not use spaces. The spaces here are for learner convenience, to separate words and particles. In real text, Japanese relies on kanji, kana, and context for word boundaries.