Spanish adjectives appear AFTER the noun in general (el artículo interesante). This differs from English, where adjectives generally appear before the noun (the interesting article). Nevertheless, things can be a bit tricky — in this post, you’ll see that some Spanish adjectives can appear before or after the noun, while others only appear before the noun, and others change meaning depending on where they are placed. Let’s dive into it!
What is the general case?
As mentioned, the general case is that Spanish adjectives usually appear after the noun. Take a look at the example below — the adjective rápido meaning fast appears after the noun:
Noun
Adjective
Here are some more examples of types of adjectives that usually go after the noun:
| Type | Example |
|---|---|
Color | el libro rojo Translation: the red book |
Shape | el libro rectangular Translation: the rectangular book |
State | el libro cerrado Translation: the closed book |
Origin | el libro inglés Translation: the English book |
This little rule applies to the majority of the cases, but let’s cover the rest!
Only before the noun
Some Spanish adjectives can only appear before the noun (such as mero meaning mere, supuesto / presunto meaning alleged. As illustrated in the following example, when these adjectives appear after the noun, the sentence is not grammatically correct.
Also, there are certain non-descriptive adjectives that always go before the noun: Spanish demonstratives, Spanish possessive adjectives, indefinite adjectives, adjectives of quantity (mucho meaning many, poco meaning little), and adjectives that indicate number (uno meaning one, dos meaning two...), or order (primero meaning first, segundo meaning second, próximo meaning next...).
| Adjective Type | Example |
|---|---|
Demonstrative | este libro Translation: this book |
Possessive | mi libro Translation: my book |
Indefinite | algún libro Translation: some books |
Quantity | muchos libros Translation: many books |
Number | siete libros Translation: seven books |
Order | Juan es mi primer hijo. Translation: Juan is my first son. |
However, order adjectives go before or after the noun when we talk about the floor of a building (in example one) or a book chapter (in example two):
- Vivo en el primer piso / vivo en el piso primero.Translation: I live on the first floor.
- el último capítulo / el capítulo últimoTranslation: the last chapter
As you may have observed in example one, some of these adjectives change form depending on their position (primer piso/piso primero). Keep reading to find out when Spanish adjectives change form!
Before or after the noun
In some instances, adjectives can go either before or after the noun, depending on the effect you want to create in conversation or in writing. Let’s explore three situations when adjectives can go either before or after the noun.
To differentiate
Sometimes, the placement of an adjective is used to differentiate the noun in context. There are some Spanish adjectives that can appear before or after the noun, for example: bonito meaning beautiful, blanco meaning white, and largo meaning long. Why is this so?
First, when we place these adjectives after the noun, we create a differentiation effect in the context of the conversation, as in example one below. Take a look at the following situation:
- Leí el libro largo.
- Leí el largo libro.Translation: I read the long book.
In example one, we distinguish “the long book” from other books (I had several books, but I ended up reading the long one). To contrast, in example two, when the adjective is placed before In example one, we distinguish “the long book” from other books (I had several books, but I ended up reading the long one). To contrast, in example two, when the adjective is placed before the noun, we don’t get this reading of differentiation. Instead, we are emphasizing the quality of the book (it’s a long book). Keep reading to find out more!
Some other times, Spanish adjectives can be placed before the noun. We place adjectives before the noun in two specific contexts — for emphasis and for style. Let’s dig deeper!
To emphasize quality
Some adjectives are placed before the noun in order to emphasize a quality of the noun for descriptive or explanatory purposes as in example one.
- Me envió una pequeña postal.Translation: He sent me a small postcard.
- Dame unas cajas pequeñas.Translation: Give me some small boxes.
In example one, we use the adjective before the noun, because we want to highlight the quality of the postcard, in this case, its size. On the other hand, in example two, we place the adjective after the noun because we want to differentiate that object from others as discussed in the previous section: Which boxes? The small boxes, not the big ones.
Common adjectives that can go before the noun and create this difference in emphasis are: largo/corto meaning long/short, rápido/lento meaning fast/slow, fuerte meaning strong, bonito meaning beautiful, among others. These are called relative adjectives, because they have a relative meaning. For example, something is longer or shorter depending on the object we are comparing it to.
For stylistic choice
Some other times, the use of adjectives before the noun is a stylistic choice, and it depends on the speaker’s intention. For example, in everyday language, relative adjectives are often placed after the noun, while in a formal context they are used before the noun as discussed in the previous section. In addition, adjectives that are not relative adjectives (color, shape, etc.) can be used before the noun in poetic contexts.
| Style | Shape Adjective | Relative Adjective |
|---|---|---|
Everyday Language | El ordenador cuadrado… | …estaba sobre una mesa pequeña. |
Formal Context | El ordenador cuadrado… | …estaba sobre una pequeña mesa . |
Poetic Context | El cuadrado ordenador… | …estaba sobre una pequeña mesa . |
Translation | The square computer… | …was on the small table. |
Change in meaning
Finally, sometimes there will be a change in meaning, depending on the position of the adjective. In the examples below, the adjective antiguo meaning old, former appears before the noun in example one and after the noun in example two. In the first example the meaning we get is “former,” while in the second it means “old”—it is an old building.
- la antigua casa de mi abuelaTranslation: my grandma’s former house
- la casa antigua de mi abuelaTranslation: my grandma’s old house
Here you can find a list of more adjectives that can appear before or after the noun.
Where to place Spanish adjectives in questions?
The same adjective rules that apply to Spanish statements also apply to Spanish interrogatives. Let’s see some examples:
To know more about word order in Spanish questions, check out our post on how to build questions in Spanish.
When do Spanish adjectives change form?
Some adjectives change form when they come before a noun. There are two groups: a) those that change form only before singular masculine nouns and b) those that change form before both masculine and feminine nouns. We’ll review both groups next!
Adjectives that change only in masculine
Some adjectives change only in the masculine form. The following adjectives lose their final –o when they are used before a singular masculine noun:
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
uno | one |
bueno | good |
malo | bad |
primero | first |
tercero | third |
alguno | some, any |
ninguno | none |
- el hombre bueno → el buen hombreTranslation: the good man
- el camino malo → el mal caminoTranslation: the bad path
- el piso primero → el primer pisoTranslation: the first floor
They do not change at all with a feminine noun:
- la mujer buena → la buena mujerTranslation: the good woman
- una experiencia mala → una mala experienciaTranslation: a bad experience
- por vez primera → por primera vezTranslation: for the first time
Adjectives that change in both masculine and feminine
Other adjectives change in both the masculine and feminine forms. The adjective grande meaning big changes before a masculine or a feminine noun:
| Gender | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
Masculine → | un apartamento grande | a big apartment |
un gran apartamento | ||
Feminine → | una mesa grande | a big table |
una gran mesa |
Summary
Spanish adjectives generally appear after the noun, although as we have discussed, there are some exceptions. Let’s summarize them:
Some adjectives can only appear before the noun: mero meaning mere, supuesta meaning alleged; as well as demonstrative adjectives, possessive adjectives, indefinite adjectives, and quantity adjectives.
Order adjectives usually go before the noun, except if we refer to chapters in a book or floors in a building — these can go before or after the noun.
Some adjectives can appear before or after the noun. When these adjectives are placed after the noun, they create a differentiation effect. When these adjectives are placed before the noun, they emphasize the quality of the noun. Other times, the position relative to the noun depends on stylistic choices, including the formality of the context, or poetic use of language.
Some adjectives change meaning depending on the position of the adjectives, such as viejo meaning old, former or antiguo meaning old, former.
Some adjectives change form when they are placed before the noun, such as bueno → buen meaning good or grande → gran meaning big
Don’t forget that Spanish adjectives agree in gender and number with the nouns they accompany.
Find more adjectives that change meaning depending on their position and examples that illustrate this point. Or, if you want to practice more, we have created some exercises with an answer key. Enjoy!
:quality(80))
:quality(75))
:quality(75))
:quality(75))
:quality(75))
:quality(75))
:quality(75))