Adjective Placement

Quick Answer

In English, adjectives usually go before the nouns they describe.

In Spanish, adjectives usually come after the nouns they describe.

In the examples below, the Spanish adjectives come after the nouns they describe.

examples
Me gustan las flores rojas. I like red flowers.
Mi hermano es un hombre alto. My brother is a tall man.
Prefiero el café negro. I prefer black coffee.

Adjective Placement Exceptions

Spanish adjectives don't always come after the nouns they describe. Below are a list of instances in which Spanish adjectives come before the nouns they describe, just like they do in English.

1. Possessive Adjectives and Demonstrative Adjectives

Possessive adjectives like mi, tu, and su and demonstrative adjectives like ese, este, and aquel come before the nouns they describe.

Check out these examples of possessive and descriptive adjectives.

examples
Mi hermana es alta. My sister is tall.
Nuestro perro es muy amable. Our dog is very friendly.
Este árbol tiene muchas manzanas. This tree has a lot of apples.
Estas sillas son cómodas. These chairs are comfortable.

2. Limiting Adjectives

Limiting adjectives that define a number or amount of a noun, even if it is not specific, come before the noun.

Check out these examples of limiting adjectives.

examples
Los niños quieren ocho helados. The children want eight ice creams.
Tengo menos dinero que mi hermana. I have less money than my sister.
Hay pocas naranjas este verano. There are few oranges this summer.
Tienes suficiente tiempo. You have sufficient time.

Below you will find a list of common limiting adjectives. Remember that all numbers are limiting adjectives.

Spanish	English
alguno	some
bastante	enough
cuanto	as much
demasiado	too much
mucho	a lot
ninguno	no, none
poco	a little
suficiente	sufficient, enough
varios	various, some, a few

3. Essential Qualities

Descriptive adjectives that emphasize an essential quality of a noun often come before the noun.

Check out these examples.

examples
El valiente león protege su territorio. The brave lion protects his territory.
La dulce miel es deliciosa en pan tostado. Sweet honey is delicious on toast.
Las verdes hojas del árbol cantan en el viento. The green leaves of the tree sing in the breeze.

4. Meaning-Change Adjectives

Some adjectives can mean different things depending on their placement.

• When placed after the noun, the adjective has a fairly objective, descriptive meaning.
• When placed before the noun, the adjective has a more subjective meaning.

Check out these examples of meaning-change adjectives.

examples
Gabriel García Márquez es un gran autor. Gabriel García Márquez is a great author.
Yo tengo una casa grande. I have a big house.
Pablo es mi viejo amigo. Pablo is my long-time friend.
Juanita es mi amiga vieja. Juanita is my elderly friend.

Below you will find a list of common meaning-change adjectives.

Adjective	Before the noun	After the noun
alto	top/high-class	tall
antiguo	old/former/ancient	antique
bajo	of low quality	short
bueno	simple/good	good/gentle/generous
cierto	certain	true/right
cualquier	any (of those available)	any (type doesn't matter)
diferente	various	different
distinto	various	different
dulce	good/nice	sweet
grande	great	big
mismo	same	himself/herself
nuevo	another /newly acquired	new/newly made
pobre	unfortunate	poor
propio	his/her own	especially for someone
puro	sheer/nothing but	pure
raro	rare	strange
simple	mere	simple/modest
solo	one	lonely
triste	dreadful	sad
único	only	unique
varios	several	different
viejo	former/long-time	old/aged

Learn all about adjectives in Spanish with these articles!

• Nationalities in Spanish

• Comparisons of Equality in Spanish

• Comparisons of Inequality in Spanish

• Possessive Adjectives in Spanish

• Superlative Adjectives in Spanish

• Demonstrative Adjectives in Spanish

• Descriptive Adjectives in Spanish

• Negation and Negative Words in Spanish

• Asking Questions in Spanish

• Relative Adjectives Like "Cuyo" in Spanish

• Short-Form Adjectives in Spanish

• Spanish Exclamatory Words and Expressions

• Using Adjectives as Nouns in Spanish