Breakdown of Quel cappotto stravagante non mi sembrava comodo.
non
not
comodo
comfortable
quello
that
il cappotto
the coat
mi
to me
sembrare
to seem
stravagante
extravagant / eccentric
Questions & Answers about Quel cappotto stravagante non mi sembrava comodo.
Why is it Quel cappotto and not Quello cappotto?
The demonstrative adjective quello (that) changes its ending based on the sound of the noun that follows it, matching the rules for the definite article (the word for "the"). Since you would say il cappotto, quello drops the "lo" and becomes quel cappotto.
Why do we use the imperfect tense (sembrava) instead of the passato prossimo (è sembrato) here?
We use the imperfect (sembrava) because it describes an ongoing opinion, impression, or state of mind in the past. If you used the passato prossimo (è sembrato), it would imply a sudden realization or a specific, momentary event (e.g., "at that exact moment, it seemed").
The current lesson is about substantivized adjectives (like il bello). Could we say non mi sembrava il comodo?
No, because comodo here is functioning as a regular adjective describing the coat. A substantivized adjective adds the article il to act as a noun expressing an abstract concept (like saying "convenience" or "the comfortable part"). Since you are just describing the physical coat itself, no article is used before comodo.
How does mi sembrava work grammatically in this sentence?
The verb sembrare (to seem) works a lot like piacere. The literal translation is "That coat did not seem comfortable to me." The coat is the subject doing the action (seeming), which is why the verb is in the "it" form (sembrava), and mi is the indirect object pronoun telling us who it seemed that way to.
Does the adjective stravagante change depending on the gender of the noun?
No, adjectives that end in -e in the singular (like stravagante) are identical for both masculine and feminine nouns. They only change when made plural, where the -e becomes an -i (e.g., cappotti stravaganti).
Learn Quel cappotto stravagante non mi sembrava comodo and more in Italian
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free