Topic Summaries

Positions of adjectives

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  • In Spanish, the default position for adjectives is after the noun. For example:
    • un coche rojo (a red car)
    • una casa grande (a big house)
    • un perro feliz (a happy dog)
  • However, some adjectives come before the noun – these are called prenominal adjectives. These are often short, common adjectives
Premonimal adjective Meaning Example
algún some / any ¿Tienes algún libro? (Do you have any book?)
ningún no / none No tengo ningún amigo. (I don’t have any friend.)
primer first Es el primer día. (It’s the first day.)
segundo second Mi segundo intento. (My second try.)
tercer third El tercer capítulo. (The third chapter.)
buen good Es un buen estudiante. (He’s a good student.)
mal bad Tuviste un mal día. (You had a bad day.)
gran great Es una gran idea. (It’s a great idea.)
  • Some adjectives change meaning depending on their position
Adjective Before noun (prenominal) After noun (postnominal)
único only unique
antiguo former old
pobre unfortunate poor (without money)
gran great big (grande)
  • Examples
    • Mi único amigo (my only friend) vs. Un amigo único (a unique friend)
    • Mi antigua casa (my former house) vs. Una casa antigua (an old house)
    • Un pobre hombre (an unfortunate man) vs. Un hombre pobre (a poor man)

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