Learn Italian: Quella stella è molto piccola.

Quella stella è molto piccola.

That star is very small.

Breakdown of Quella stella è molto piccola.

Questions & Answers about Quella stella è molto piccola.

Why do we use quella here instead of quello?

The word for "that" (quello) changes to match the noun it points to. Because stella (star) is a feminine singular noun, quello becomes quella.

Does quella change its spelling depending on the first letter of the feminine noun?

Yes! If the feminine singular noun started with a vowel (like amica), quella would drop its final "a" and take an apostrophe, becoming quell'amica. Since stella starts with a consonant, quella keeps its "a".

Since stella is feminine, shouldn't molto change to molta?

Not here! When molto means "very" (describing an adjective like piccola), it never changes its ending. It only changes to match gender and number when it means "a lot of" or "many" and describes a noun.

Why does the adjective piccola end with an "a"?

Adjectives in Italian have to match the noun they describe. Because stella is a feminine singular noun, the default masculine adjective piccolo (small) changes its "o" to an "a" to become piccola.