Adjectives

Question

I know that in general the adjective that describes a noun comes after the noun, but in reading books in Spanish and talking to native speakers, I've noted that is not always the case. A common example is 'es un gran (noun of your choice).? I feel very comfortable using that adjective first, but there are others I see that I can't tell why they've done it.

Another time I see it is when there are two adjectives'like'let me think'la pequeña pelota roja, or el gran barco blanco. But still I don't feel very comfortable using phrases like that w/ two adjectives.

Any help on this topic would be great!

Muchas gracias

Answer 1

Hi Lezipo, I suggest reading this thread: Before or After?

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Also, check the reference page: Adjective Placement

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Along with some helpful rules it has a list of about 13 adjectives that change meaning depending on placement.

Answer 2

What the difference between two form adjectives and four form adjectives?

Could you provide examples of what a two form adjective and a four form adjective is?

• masculine, singular (bueno)
• masculine, plural (buenos)
• feminine, singular (buena)
• feminine, plural (buenas)

is that a 4 form adjective.?

• masculine or feminine,singular (diferente)
• masculine or feminine, plural (diferentes)

Is that a two form adjective?

Answer 3

What the difference between two form adjectives and four form adjectives?

Answer 4

I know that in general the adjective that describes a noun comes after the noun, but in reading books in Spanish and talking to native speakers, I've noted that is not always the case. A common example is 'es un gran (noun of your choice).? I feel very comfortable using that adjective first, but there are others I see that I can't tell why they've done it.

Another time I see it is when there are two adjectives'like'let me think'la pequeña pelota roja, or el gran barco blanco. But still I don't feel very comfortable using phrases like that w/ two adjectives.

Any help on this topic would be great!

Muchas gracias
Lazarus (and others) have provided us with several very informative posts concerning the location of adjective and the effect of their positioning. I suggest that you search some previous posts. For the example that you mentioned:

... un hombre grande a large (size) man
... un gran hombre a great (admirable, famous) man

(just as an aside) it is not a noun of your choice. Grande becomes gran only before a singular noun. Therefore, it cannot be a plural noun.

in general, descriptive adjectives follow nouns, quantifiers precede nouns, but nothing is that simple. Read the posts to see other "rules".

Oops, sorry Fredbong. You beat me by a minute.