Breakdown of Эта ткань почти не мнётся, и это очень удобно в дороге.
и
and
не
not
дорога
the road
очень
very
Questions & Answers about Эта ткань почти не мнётся, и это очень удобно в дороге.
Why is it эта ткань and not этот ткань?
Because ткань is a feminine noun, so the demonstrative must also be feminine:
- этот = masculine
- эта = feminine
- это = neuter
So эта ткань is the correct nominative singular form.
Why is ткань feminine even though it ends in a soft sign?
In Russian, nouns ending in -ь can be either masculine or feminine, so the soft sign alone does not tell you the gender.
Ткань is one of the feminine nouns of the so-called third declension. Learners usually just have to memorize the gender of each -ь noun.
That matters because it affects agreement:
- эта ткань
- новая ткань
- ткань мнётся
What does почти не mean here?
Почти не means almost not, which in natural English is often hardly or doesn’t really.
So the idea is:
- почти не мнётся = hardly wrinkles / almost doesn’t crease
It softens the statement. It does not mean the fabric can never wrinkle; it means it wrinkles very little.