Breakdown of Quel cespuglio, le cui rose sbocciano sempre, è molto bello.
essere
to be
bello
beautiful
molto
very
quello
that
sempre
always
la rosa
rose
il cui
whose (il cui, la cui, i cui, le cui)
il cespuglio
the bush
sbocciare
to bloom
Questions & Answers about Quel cespuglio, le cui rose sbocciano sempre, è molto bello.
Why do we use le cui (feminine plural) when it refers to a masculine singular bush (cespuglio)?
In Italian, the definite article used with cui must agree in gender and number with the thing being possessed, not the owner. Since the things possessed are rose (feminine plural), you must use le cui, even though the owner is the masculine cespuglio.
Can I just leave the article out and say cui rose similar to the English structure?
No, Italian requires a definite article before cui when it indicates possession. You can think of le cui rose as literally meaning the roses of which, which helps you remember why the le is mandatory.
Why is the word for that written as quel instead of quello?
The demonstrative adjective quello changes its ending depending on the noun that follows it, following the exact same patterns as the definite article. Since we would use il before cespuglio (a masculine singular noun starting with a regular consonant), quello shortens to quel.
Why is the verb sbocciano plural if there is only one bush?
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