Learn Italian: Questa mela è molto rossa e questo telefono è bello. - This apple is very red and this phone is beautiful.

Questa mela è molto rossa e questo telefono è bello.

This apple is very red and this phone is beautiful.

Breakdown of Questa mela è molto rossa e questo telefono è bello.

Questions & Answers about Questa mela è molto rossa e questo telefono è bello.

Why do we use questa for the apple but questo for the phone?

In Italian, the word for "this" changes to match the gender of the noun it points to. Since mela (apple) is a feminine noun, we use questa. Telefono (phone) is masculine, so we use questo.

How can I easily remember which one to use?

A great trick for beginners is to look at the last letter of the singular noun. Words ending in -a (like mela) are usually feminine, while words ending in -o (like telefono) are usually masculine. The demonstrative adjectives questa and questo copy these exact same endings!

Why is the word for red spelled rossa here instead of rosso?

Adjectives must match the gender of the noun they describe. Because mela is feminine, the default masculine adjective rosso changes its ending to an -a, becoming rossa. Notice how bello (beautiful) at the end of the sentence keeps its -o ending because it describes the masculine telefono.

If everything has to match the feminine mela, why doesn't molto change to molta?