Position of Adjectives in Spanish

This section explains the position of adjectives in Spanish and includes tips for students studying foundation and higher tiers. In Spanish, the position of adjectives (the words that describe nouns) can change depending on their meaning, formality, or the specific characteristics of the adjective. This differs from English, where adjectives typically come before the noun. Understanding where to place adjectives in Spanish is essential for accurate communication.

Adjectives Generally Come After the Noun

In Spanish, most adjectives follow the noun they describe. This is the opposite of English, where adjectives usually come before the noun.

Examples:

• La casa grande (The big house)
• El coche rojo (The red car)
• Las chicas altas (The tall girls)
• Los perros pequeños (The small dogs)

In these cases, the adjective grande (big), rojo (red), altas (tall), and pequeños (small) all come after the noun they describe.

Adjectives That Come Before the Noun

Some adjectives come before the noun, and their meaning can change depending on their position. Generally, these adjectives express a quality or opinion rather than a description of physical traits.

Common Adjectives that Come Before the Noun:

• Bajo (short), bueno (good), gran (great), malo (bad), nuevo (new), pobre (poor), rico (rich), viejo (old).

Examples:

• Un buen amigo (A good friend)
  (Note: Bueno shortens to buen before a masculine singular noun.)
• Una mala película (A bad film)
• Tres grandes casas (Three big houses)
• Un viejo amigo (An old friend)

Adjectives That Change Meaning Based on Position

The meaning of certain adjectives changes depending on whether they come before or after the noun. This is especially common with adjectives that express value, emotion, or evaluation.

Examples:

• Un hombre pobre (A poor man – without money)
• Un pobre hombre (A poor man – unfortunate)
  • Pobre comes after the noun to indicate financial poverty, and before the noun to express pity or misfortune.
• Una vieja casa (An old house – very old)
• Una casa vieja (An old house – just aged, not necessarily very old)
  • Vieja before the noun expresses that something is very old, while after the noun it simply means that it has aged.

Adjectives with Specific Meaning

Some adjectives always come before the noun, regardless of the context. These include adjectives that describe quantity or quality.

Examples:

• Tres coches rojos (Three red cars)
• Algunas chicas (Some girls)
• Muchos libros (Many books)
• Toda la comida (All the food)

These adjectives (tres, algunas, muchos, toda) are always placed before the noun because they express quantity.

Adjectives with Different Meanings Depending on Their Position

Some adjectives have different meanings depending on whether they are placed before or after the noun.

Examples:

• Un gran día (A great day)
  Gran before the noun means "great" or "important".
• Un día grande (A big day)
  Grande after the noun means "big" in size.
• Un antiguo edificio (An ancient building)
  Antiguo before the noun means "ancient" or "old" in the sense of being historical.
• Un edificio antiguo (An old building)
  Antiguo after the noun means "old" in age, but not necessarily historical.

Adjectives That Do Not Change Position

Some adjectives are typically used only after the noun, and do not change position for meaning. These adjectives describe characteristics that do not change based on their placement.

Examples:

• La casa blanca (The white house)
• El perro inteligente (The intelligent dog)
• La flor bonita (The pretty flower)

Higher Tier Example

For higher-tier students, it is important to understand that multiple adjectives can be used together, and the general rule is that adjectives expressing opinion or emotion come before the noun, while those that describe physical characteristics or size come after.

Example:

• Un precioso coche rojo (A beautiful red car)
  Precioso (beautiful) expresses an opinion, so it comes before the noun, while rojo (red) describes a characteristic, so it comes after.

Another higher-tier example could involve compound adjectives:

• Una gran cantidad de personas (A large number of people)
  Gran (great/large) comes before the noun, while cantidad (number) is a noun, and no adjective placement rule changes here.

Summary of Key Rules

Adjectives usually come after the noun in Spanish: El coche rojo (The red car).

Adjectives that express opinion or emotion generally come before the noun: Un buen amigo (A good friend).

Some adjectives change meaning depending on their position: Un gran amigo (A great friend) vs. Un amigo grande (A big friend).

Adjectives related to quantity, such as numbers and some other words, are always placed before the noun: Tres libros (Three books).

These notes should help clarify how the position of adjectives works in Spanish for both foundation and higher-tier students. Be sure to practice with different adjectives and their positions in sentences to strengthen your understanding!