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Questa è un'arancia, non una mela.

Questa è un'arancia, non una mela.
This is an orange, not an apple.
From Lesson 13:Special indefinite articles (uno, un')·Italian

Questions & Answers about Questa è un'arancia, non una mela.

Why is there an apostrophe in un'arancia?
Arancia is a feminine word that starts with a vowel. Normally, the feminine word for "a" or "an" is una. But when the next word starts with a vowel, the "a" at the end of una is dropped and replaced with an apostrophe to make it flow better when speaking. So, una arancia becomes un'arancia.
If a masculine word starts with a vowel, does it also get an apostrophe?
No, and this is a really important rule to remember! Masculine words that start with a vowel just use the article un with no apostrophe, like un amico (a male friend). Seeing un' with an apostrophe is actually a great clue that a noun is feminine.
Why doesn't una mela get shortened with an apostrophe too?
Because mela (apple) starts with a consonant. You only drop the "a" from una when the feminine word right after it starts with a vowel. Since "m" is a consonant, the article stays whole as una mela.
Why does the sentence start with Questa instead of Questo?
Questa is the feminine form of "this". In Italian, words like "this" have to match the gender of the thing you are talking about. Since both arancia and mela are feminine nouns, you must use the feminine questa to say "This (thing) is an orange".

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