Breakdown of Questa sedia è piccola e questa mela è grande.
essere
to be
e
and
grande
big
piccolo
small
questa
this (feminine)
la sedia
the chair
la mela
the apple
Questions & Answers about Questa sedia è piccola e questa mela è grande.
Why do we use Questa instead of Questo?
Why does the adjective piccola end in 'a'?
Adjectives describe nouns, and in Italian, they must match the noun's gender and number. Since sedia is a feminine singular noun, the dictionary form of the adjective piccolo (small) changes its ending to match, becoming piccola.
Wait, if mela is feminine, why doesn't grande end in 'a' too?
This is a great catch! Italian has two main types of adjectives. The first type ends in -o or -a depending on gender (like piccolo/piccola). The second type always ends in -e for singular nouns, regardless of whether they are masculine or feminine. Grande (big) belongs to this second group, so it stays exactly the same here.
Is the word order in this sentence exactly the same as English?
Yes! Simple descriptive sentences like this often match English perfectly. Questa sedia è piccola translates word-for-word to "This chair is small".
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