⇒ In English, adjectives usually go before the nouns they describe.
⇒ In Spanish, adjectives usually come after the nouns they describe.
| 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. |
⇒ 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.
⇒ Possessive adjectives like mi, tu, and su and demonstrative adjectives like ese, este, and aquel come before the nouns they describe.
| 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. |
⇒ 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.
| 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 |
⇒ Some adjectives can mean different things depending on their placement.
⇒ Check out these examples of meaning-change adjectives:
| 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 |