Pequeno as an adjective
I am often confused when words that I would describe as adjectives don't always follow the noun in Spanish. Pequeno is a prime example.
For example, one would say "manzana roja." Then why not not say, "manzana pequena?" Wouldn't the concept of size be an adjective?
9 Answers
It is perfectly normal for adjectives to come before or after the noun. There are two types of adjectives: non-differentiating and differentiating. Non- differentiating are based on emotion, sensation and reaction felt by an observer and are placed before the noun. Differentiating adjectives set something apart from others and are placed after. Por ejemplo: "La bella mujer" would be used if you saw a girl and the first thing that jumped out at you was her beauty. "La mujer bella" would be used to describe a woman that was in a group of others. Your examples are correct. I would actually use them instead of the ones you saw because most of the time adjectives of size are differentiating adj.
I was never fully aware of the concept of differentiating and non-differentiating adjectives. But now it all makes sense. Thanks so much for everyone's clarification. The issue of adjectives before or after nouns has always seemed baffling at times.
This continues to be a great language resource and I appreciate it being available for everyone.
Check out our reference article on Adjective Placement for a thorough explanation.
Yes, you could say:
"Una manzana pequeña" - A small apple.
Your example, "manzana roja" means "red apple".
For some reason that I don´t understand I am told that:
It is "una buena idea" and not "Una idea buena"
No one here can tell me why.
I guess I was confused in the examples given in Word of the Day for the word pequeno. To be proper, shouldn't the example phrases have been written as "pantilla pequena" and "empressa pequena" (with the adjective after the noun and not before the noun). Just curious.
Or is there no longer a hard and fast rule that adjectives always follow nouns?
There never was a hard and fast rule that adjective always follow nouns. Descriptive adjectives can precede the adjective when they depict a quality of the noun. (see article below)
pequeña empresa means a business that falls into a certain business category. It may have nothing to do with physical size, it may be categorized by business income.
empresa pequeña is more likely talking about a one shop business relating to physical size.
I guess I need to clarify my question more. Yesterday's Word of the Day was pequeno. The provided examples included the phrases "pequena pantalla" (small screen), and "pequena empressa" (small business).
I was taught that adjectives normally follow the noun in Spanish, which is why I used my example of "manzana roja" (red apple). However, in the two sample phrases provided for the word pequeno, the word pequena precedes the words pantilla and empressa.
Why is this so? If "manzana roja" is the correct usage of noun and adjective, wouldn't "pantilla pequena" and "empressa pequena " be correct also? This is why I am confused.
Or is there no longer a hard and fast rule that adjectives always follow nouns?
Im not exactly sure what you are asking. You can definitely say both "manzana roja" y "manzana pequeña." Or if you want to use both adjectives at the same time you can say "Una manzana roja y pequeña."
