Spanish Adjectives Before or After the Noun

One of the first things you may be told when you start studying the Spanish adjective is that, unlike its English counterpart, it comes after the noun. But it doesnt take very much reading of Spanish to find out that the rule about word order is meant to be broken; it is actually quite common to place adjectives before nouns. Certainly, adjectives — especially descriptive adjectives (ones that describe a quality of something) — usually come after the noun, and sometimes they must. But there are some adjectives that preferably come before the noun, and even a few whose meanings change depending on where theyre placed. Here are some of the different types of adjectives and where you will find them: Nondescriptive Adjectives Most adjectives other than those that describe go before the noun. Sometimes these adjectives are classified by other names, such as possessive adjectives or determiners. pocos libros (few books)muchas palomas (many doves)mi casa (my house)esta mesa (this table)dos libros (two books) Colors Colors come after the noun. la flor roja (the red flower)la Casa Blanca (the White House) Adjectives Indicating Membership or Classification These include adjectives of nationality and various types of affiliation and nearly always come after the noun. Note that such adjectives arent capitalized in Spanish even when they are based on a proper noun such as the name of a country. la mujer ecuatoriana (the Ecuadoran woman)el sacerdote catà ³lico (the Catholic priest)el restaurante chino (the Chinese restaurant)el juez demà ³crata (the Democratic judge) Adjectives Modified by an Adverb or Phrase These come after the noun. la taza llena de agua (the cup full of water)el libro muy interesante (the very interesting book)la computadora bastante buena (the quite good computer) Multiple Adjectives When two or more adjectives of similar importance describe something, they go after the noun. la casa grande y cara (the big and expensive house)el zapato tradicional y barato (the traditional, cheap shoe) Adjectives of Appreciation By placing an adjective before the noun, you can sometimes indicate a degree of appreciation for that quality and/or emphasis. In English we sometimes do the same thing by using a word such as really or by a change in intonation. Often the distinction isnt ready translatable. Es un mà ºsico bueno .(Hes a good musician.) Es un buen mà ºsico. (Hes a really good musician.)la hermosa vista (the beautiful view)Hollywood, la ciudad de incontables pelà ­culas (Hollywood, the city of countless movies.) Adjectives Conveying Emotion It is very common to place adjectives that convey emotion or feelings before the noun: el inolvidable cantante (the unforgettable singer)un increà ­ble historia (an incredible story)una estupenda pelà ­cula (a stupendous movie) Sometimes, the fact that an adjective conveys emotion results in it having a different meaning, or at least a different English translation, depending on whether theyre placed before or after the noun. Generally, the adjectives placed after the noun have an objective meaning or one that carries little or no emotional content, while one placed before the noun can indicate something about how the speaker feels toward the person or thing being described. mi viejo amigo (my longtime friend), mi amigo viejo (my elderly friend)el gran canal (the grand canal), el canal grande  (the large canal)un hombre triste (a sad man), un triste hombre (a pathetic man) Reinforcing Adjectives Adjectives that reinforce the meaning of the noun, such as adjectives that go with the accompanying noun, often are placed before the noun. In many cases, one might also say that the purpose of these adjectives is less for describing the noun thats modified and more for conveying some sort of an emotion to it. una oscura noche (a dark night)el horrible monstruo (the horrible monster)la alta montaà ±a (the high mountain)la blanca nieve (the white snow) Another way of explaining such adjectives is that they point to an essential characteristic of what is being described: las verdes hojas (the green leaves)el delicado equilibrio (the delicate balance)sangre rojo (red blood) Key Takeaways Adjectives that are purely descriptive come after the nouns they refer to.Adjectives that are used for grammatical purposes other than describing the nature or state of the nouns they refer to, such as determiners, typically come before nouns.Many descriptive adjectives can come before or after the nouns they refer to; when placed before, they often impart an emotional quality to the description.