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When demonstrative pronouns questo (questa, questi, queste) and quello (quella, quelli, quelle) are followed by a noun, they turn into adjectives.
The Italian Demonstrative adjective (aggetivi dimostrativi) are:
| Singolare | Singular | Plurale |
Plural |
||
| Masculine | questo | this | questi |
these |
|
| Feminine | questa | this | queste |
these |
|
| Masculine | quello | that | quelli |
those |
|
| Feminine | quella | that | quelle |
those |
|
| Masculine | codesto | that | codesti |
those |
|
| Feminine | codesta | that | codeste |
those |
questo, questa, and quella before a noun beginning with a vowel takes an apostrophe. Examples:
- quest’aereo » this airplane
- quest’aula » this classroom
- quell’autostrada » that highway
Questa is sometimes shortened to “sta” and contracted with the noun it modifies:
- questa sera (this evening) » stasera (this evening)
Demonstratives agree in gender and number with the nouns they modify, and always precede them:
- Questo libro » this book
- Quella casa » that house