Questions & Answers about Это хорошее жёлтое пальто.
If I wanted to ask 'What kind of coat is this?', which form of какой would I use?
You would use the neuter form какое to match the neuter noun пальто. The question would be: Какое это пальто?
Why do хорошее and жёлтое have different endings (-ее vs -ое) if they are both neuter adjectives?
Most neuter adjectives end in -ое, like жёлтое. However, Russian has a spelling rule where you cannot write an unstressed о after certain 'hushing' consonants, including the ш sound. Because the ending of хорошее is unstressed and follows ш, the ending changes to -ее.
пальто ends in -о, which is a normal neuter ending. Is it a regular noun?
It is neuter, but it is not a regular noun. пальто is a borrowed foreign word. In Russian, borrowed nouns that end in vowels like -о, -е, or -и (such as метро or кафе) are neuter, but they are 'indeclinable.' This means their spelling never changes, no matter what grammatical case is being used in the sentence.
Is Это in the neuter form here because it matches the neuter noun пальто?
Actually, no! When это is used as a standalone word to mean 'This is', it always stays in this default form regardless of the following noun's gender. If you were introducing a feminine noun, you would still say Это. It is just a coincidence that the default 'This is' form looks exactly like the neuter modifier.
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