Great kings......

Question

So you know

Un gran rey is a great king.

And un rey grande is a great big king.

So what about - Grandes reyes - Great kings?

and

Reyes grandes - great big kings.

Right?

Gracias.

Answer 1

I thought gran = great, usually referring to the character/virtue of the modified noun; while grade(s) = big, usually referring to the size of the modified noun(s). Es verdad?

I would like to hear some more advance or native speakers to share their knowledge here.

Yes that is my question though, being plural the grandes before the noun is really gran - des - plural. Or would it be granes? Never seen granes so it must be grandes. - jeezzle, Jan 15, 2012

Ah, now I understand your question. A very good question, I look forward for answers too now. - JazSpanish, Jan 15, 2012

Wild One, your fingers betrayed you when you were typing "grande(s)," they left off the "d" to make "grade(s)" :D ;)) - territurtle, Jan 16, 2012

Answer 2

Maybe because I don't see that clear what's the difference between:

Great king and great big king.

A great king is known for the many great things he has done.

A great big king is known for wearing clothes of a very large size.

muy bien dicho. - jeezzle, Jan 15, 2012

of "A" very large size -- fingers been slipping a little lately, Pesta? ;)) - territurtle, Jan 16, 2012

Thanks, Terri. I don't think that was a typo - I was thinking in another language. It was a "brain-o". :) - pesta, Jan 16, 2012

Answer 3

This question has puzzled me completely.

What's supposed to be a great big king, apart from this;

Wait, I'm not joking. What's actually a Big King?

Because in Spanish, a Rey Grande normally means a Good King, but it can be understood as a Fat King, or as a Tall King. Lacking context, I can't tell what's a "rey grande".

Adjectives placement is far from being a mathematics issue. Adjectives take their meaning when they are part of a sentence, not for being before, or after the noun.

So if you wanted to say:

They were two great kings in the story of Spain, you could say:

Fueron dos grandes reyes en la historia de España

and I can't see any difference in saying:

Fueron dos reyes grandes en la historia de España

Maybe because I don't see that clear what's the difference between:

Great king and great big king.

Could you explain that, please?

So you don't see a difference between "una gran mujer" and "una mujer grande"? - jeezzle, Jan 15, 2012

Pues no, no la veo tan claramente como tú. - cogumela, Jan 16, 2012

De hecho, una gran mujer y una mujer grande significan exactamente lo mismo. Los dos pueden referirse a "Great" , o a "Big" , eso solo se deduce del contexto - cogumela, Jan 16, 2012

Muy interesante. ¡Muchas gracias por señalárlo! - territurtle, Jan 16, 2012

Answer 4

I remember something else I once read: certain Spanish words have slightly different meanings when used before or after a noun, and "grande" was one of them. When used before a noun, it means "great", when used after a noun, it means "big." The word "grande" is special in that it becomes "gran" when used in front of a word. This website also verifies this point.

So at least for me, now it all makes sense now. In other words, your example is right: "great kings" = grandes reyes.

Whoops! You have an extra "now" in your second sentence from the bottom. Hope you don't mind me mentioning it?? Otherwise, a fabulous post!! I really appreciate the link! - territurtle, Jan 16, 2012