Adjective Positioning in Spanish

Adjectives are a crucial part of any language, giving us the ability to describe and provide more information about nouns. In English we usually place adjectives before nouns in the sentence structure, with the most complicated element being the ordering of adjectives to ensure the sentence sounds natural. Spanish, however, has more complicated adjectival positioning rules, with a number of factors determining exactly where in a sentence an adjective should fall. While the general rule places adjectives after nouns, exceptions and unique cases arise based on the type of adjective, the intended meaning, and the desired emphasis. Understanding these intricacies allows learners of Spanish to convey their thoughts, emotions, and descriptions more effectively, capturing the essence of the language's rich vocabulary and cultural nuances. Whether through the subtle shifts in meaning or the deliberate emphasis of certain qualities, Spanish adjective positioning is a fascinating dimension of the language that enhances its beauty and expressiveness. It is also always worth bearing in mind that the lyrical and poetic nature of Spanish allows for flexibility in some of these rules, especially when it comes to their use in literature

The General Rule

In the majority of cases adjectives are placed directly after the noun they are describing.This placement ensures clarity in communication and maintains the flow of the sentence. For instance:

La casa grande (The big house)

El perro juguetón (The playful dog)

If the noun is pluralized, the adjective should also be pluralized:

Las camisetas rojas (The red t-shirts)

Los gatos amables (The friendly cats)

Placing Adjectives Before Nouns

While the general rule involves placing adjectives after nouns, Spanish also permits adjectives to be positioned before nouns under specific circumstances. These circumstances often involve nuances of meaning or emotional emphasis. It can also be used to place emphasis on the adjective as a literary device, however this should only be done rarely as it can sound unnatural.

Adjectives that convey inherent characteristics such as size, shape, age, color, nationality, and certain qualities tend to precede nouns. One way some users remember some of these common inherent qualities is the acronym B.A.N.G.S, Beauty, Age, Number, Goodness (quality), and Size. So for example:

Beauty: Una hermosa playa (A beautiful beach)

Age: Un joven artista (A young artist)

Number: Diez mil dólares (Ten thousand dollars)

Goodness: Un mal día (A bad day)

Size: Una alta montaña (A tall mountain)

The adjectives grande, malo and bueno follow different spelling rules depending on position, gender and whether plural or singular.  If used before a singular masculine noun all three drop their endings, becoming gran, mal and buen. However, if malo or bueno are used after the noun, or before a female or plural noun they retain their appropriate endings. Grande is similar, however the shortened ‘gran’ is used before singular nouns of any gender.

Un gran castillo (A big castle)

Una gran laguna (A great lagoon)

Un mal castillo (A bad castle)

Una mala laguna (A bad lagoon)

Adjectives of Quantity

As we have said above, adjectives of quantity are sometimes placed before the noun, it does depend on the type of adjective and the intent behind its usage. Cardinal numbers and adjectives giving an idea of the number, such as mucho/a/s (much/many), poco/a/s (little/few), varios/varias (several), and algunos/algunas (some), generally precede the noun they modify. For instance:

Muchos libros (Many books)

Pocas oportunidades (Few opportunities)

Varios ejemplos (Several examples)

Algunas personas (Some people)

Ordinal numbers can be placed before or after the noun. They follow the same spelling rules as described above for malo or bueno, with the ending dropped when used before singular male nouns.

El primer hombre - El hombre primero (The first man)

Adjectives of Relational Quality

Additionally, Spanish uses adjective positioning to emphasize specific qualities. Adjectives like mismo (same), otro (other), and tal (such) typically appear before the noun for emphasis. Examples include:

El mismo problema (The same problem)

Otra oportunidad (Another opportunity)

Tal situación (Such situation)

Bicolonial Adjectives

There is a group of adjectives in Spanish, sometimes known as "bicolonial adjectives", that can be placed both before and after nouns but with a shift in meaning. The meaning alteration is more subtle compared to the previously discussed examples. When placed before the noun, these adjectives often express a more subjective or emotional quality, while their placement after the noun tends to convey a more objective description. Let's explore this with examples:

Un gran hombre (A great man) vs. Un hombre grande (A big man)

Un viejo amigo (An old friend) vs. Un amigo viejo (An elderly friend)

Un pobre hombre (A poor/unfortunate man) vs. Un hombre pobre (A destitute man)

Un antiguo edificio (An old building) vs. Un edificio antiguo (An ancient building)

In these cases, the distinction between gran and grande, viejo and amigo viejo, and pobre and hombre pobre showcases the subtle yet impactful differences in meaning.

Here are some examples of common bicolonial adjectives:

You may find there is considerable variation between regions and even individual speakers in the way they use these complex adjectives.

Multiple Adjectives

There is no intrinsic rule about the order in which adjectives are placed when multiple are used to describe a noun. Generally speaking the order will depend on how the speaker or writer wants the sentence to sound. When more than two adjectives are are used they are separated by a comma:

Un coche rápido, moderno y económico (A fast, modern, and economical car)

You will sometimes see adjectives both before and after a noun, which is a device used to place emphasis on the adjective placed prior to the noun or to preserve the desired meaning of a bicolonial adjective:

Un gran hombre rico (A great rich man)

Conclusion

Adjective placement is an important part of constructing sentences in Spanish. Mastering the nuances of positioning will make your Spanish sound more natural and fluent as well as helping you gain greater understanding of the subtle messages conveyed in speech and writing. That said, if you are unsure, it will often be safe to default to placing the adjective directly after the noun.

Is there another Spanish language topic that you are struggling with or would like to read an article about? Let us know at communications@naatikmexico.org. You can find our other Spanish language blogs here. 

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