Position of Adjectives in Spanish Grammar

Where to place Spanish adjectives in a sentence?

The position of adjectives in Spanish grammar varies.

Generally, adjectives are placed after the noun they describe (e.g. un gato blanco a white cat), although there are certain cases where they come before a noun (e.g. la primera noticia the first news).

Watch out, because some tricky adjectives change their meaning depending on whether they precede or follow the noun.

Learn about the position of adjectives in Spanish sentences with Lingolia. In the exercises, you can practise what you have learnt.

Example

¡El desayuno! La primera comida del día es la comida más importante.

Tu cuerpo recibe los primeros nutrientes para funcionar durante un largo día.

Asegúrate de prepararte cada mañana un rico café o un té negro con media rodaja de limón.

¡Y por qué no, también unas tostadas deliciosas!

A mí me gustan con mantequilla salada y mermelada casera de frutos del bosque.

Adjective placement in Spanish

noun + adjective

In general, most Spanish adjectives come after the noun they describe. These are called descriptive adjectives (los adjetivos calificativos).

Example:
la mantequilla salada the salted butter

These adjectives can also come after the copulative verbs (ser, estar, parecer).

Example:
La mantequilla es salada. The butter is salted.

adjective + noun

Some types of adjectives come before the noun they describe. These are:

  • the adjectives bueno* good, malo* bad, mejor better, peor worse, preciso exact/very;
Examples:
un buen café a good coffee
ese preciso momento that exact moment
  • numerical adjectives (dos two, medio half, primero* first, último last …)
Examples:
media rodaja de limón half a slice of lemon
la primera comida the first meal

*Remember

In the masculine singular, the adjectives primero, tercero, bueno and malo lose the ending -o.

Ejemplo:
el primer café del día the first coffee of the day
not: el primero café

No such change occurs in the feminine and plural forms.

Examples:
la primera comida the first meal
los primeros nutrientes the first nutrients
  • adverbial adjectives; these are adjectives that describe a circumstantial or relational quality rather than something inherent
Example:
una vieja amiga an old friend
adverbial adjective: quality that is relative to the speaker
but: una amiga vieja a friend who is old
descriptive adjective: quality that is inherent to the person in question

Note

On rare occasions, we may place a descriptive adjective before the noun. This is as a stylistic device known as hipérbaton that lends a poetic quality to written language.

Example:
un rico café a delicious coffee

It is recommended to use this device extremely sparingly and only in an appropriately literary context. Outside of this, it sounds unnatural.

adverb + adjective

Adverbs always come before adjectives in Spanish, regardless whether the adjective preceeds or follows the noun it modifies.

Examples:
La comida más importante. The most important meal.
Un muy buen café. A very good coffee.

Change of meaning

Some adjectives change their meaning depending on whether they come before or after the noun they describe.

The table below lists the most common adjectives that change their meaning according to their placement:

Adjetcive Meaning before a Noun Meaning after a Noun
antiguo/viejo former
mi antigua casa my former house
old
una casa antigua an old house
cierto certain (unspecified amount)
tener una cierta edad to be of a certain age
sure
una cosa cierta a sure thing
grande* great
un gran amigo a great friend
large (size)
una taza grande a large cup
pequeño small (minor)
un pequeño problema a small problem
small (size)
una galleta pequeña a small biscuit
pobre poor (pitiful)
un pobre hombre a poor man
poor (financially)
un hombre pobre a poor man
próximo next
→ la próxima vez the next time
naerby
una casa próxima a nearby house
puro pure (simple)
por pura envidia out of pure jealousy
pure (clean)
el aire puro the clean air
simple simple (mere)
un simple poeta a simple poet
simple (straightforward)
un poema simple a simple poem
solo single
tomar un solo café having a single cup of coffee
with nothing else
tomar un café solo having a black coffee
único one-off
una única oportunidad a one-off opportunity
unique
una oportunidad única a unique opportunity
verdadero real (genuine)
un verdadero problema a real problem
true
una historia verdadera a true story

*The adjective grande drops the ending -de before a noun in the singular: gran.

Examples:
un gran consejo a great piece of advice
not: un grande consejo
una gran amiga a great friend
not: una grande amiga

Metaphorical meaning

Adjectives that describe a physical quality (e.g. grande large, corto short, largo long, nuevo new, pequeño small, viejo old …) come after the noun they are describing.

Example:
una mantel largo a long tablecloth

However, when these adjectives are used with a metaphorical meaning, they come before the noun they are describing.

Example:
un largo día a long day
technically, a day is always the same length, but sometimes it can feel longer!