Learn Italian: L'antiquario vende una bella statua e un bel ritratto. - The antique dealer is selling a beautiful statue and a beautiful portrait.

L'antiquario vende una bella statua e un bel ritratto.

The antique dealer is selling a beautiful statue and a beautiful portrait.

Breakdown of L'antiquario vende una bella statua e un bel ritratto.

Questions & Answers about L'antiquario vende una bella statua e un bel ritratto.

Why is it bel ritratto instead of bello ritratto?

When the adjective bello comes before a masculine singular noun starting with a standard consonant (like 'r'), it shortens to bel. A great trick is to match it to the definite article: just as you say il ritratto (the portrait), you say bel ritratto.

Statua starts with 'st', so shouldn't it use a special form of bello?

Good catch, but no! Words starting with 's' followed by a consonant only trigger special forms for masculine nouns (like bello stivale). Because statua is feminine, it just uses the standard feminine form bella, matching its normal article la (la bella statua).

How would the adjective change if he were selling multiple portraits?

If he were selling multiple portraits, un bel ritratto would become dei bei ritratti (some beautiful portraits). Just as the singular bel corresponds to the article il, the plural bei corresponds to the plural article i (i ritratti).

Why is the word for antique dealer written as l'antiquario?