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!