Adjectives... despues y antes?
I though adjectives were easy, but now I learned that it can come before the noun as well. I do not fully understand this concept...
For example, a man only has one wife so all adjectives describing her would come before the noun, not after.
Su bella esposa es una actriz.
What other circumstances are adjectives before the noun?
4 Answers
Su bella esposa es [...] actriz.
Your beautiful wife is an actress.
Su esposa bella es [...] actriz.
Your beautiful wife [and not the other wives] is an actress. 
The adjective after the noun specifies which noun you are referring to, while before the noun it adds information about the noun without making restrictions.
Curious wording of the concept, but what I think that it means is adjectives that serve to restrict or classify the noun usually follow the noun: colors, nationalities, religious affiliations, etc. La casa azul distinguishes it from the other colored houses.
Since the man only has one wife, he need not use the adjective to distinguish her from his other wives. La bella esposa rather than la esposa bella comparada con sus otras esposas feas.
Since the adjective is not being used to restrict or classify the noun it precedes the noun as an adjective of intrinsic quality. (quantitative adjectives also usually precede the noun, numbers, algún, ningún, cada, etc., but not always)
Adjectives that come before the noun are non-differentiating (based on emotion, reaction, or sensation). If you say "Su bella esposa es una actriz" it basically means that the the first thing you noticed about his wife was her beauty. If you say "Su esposa bella...." it means his spouse as compared to others.
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