Posición del adjetivo
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Spanish adjectives may be found before or after the nouns they modify, depending on various factors. There are two main categories of adjectives: descriptive adjectives, which usually follow nouns, and limiting adjectives, which precede nouns.
1) Descriptive adjectives
Descriptive adjectives are what you think of when someone says "adjective." Also known as qualifying adjectives, they describe a quality of a noun (color, size, shape …), distinguish between different nouns of the same type, and usually* follow the nouns they modify.
Por ejemplo…
| el libro verde | the green book | |
| el libro rojo | the red book |
Notes
A. Two descriptive adjectives modifying the same noun may
1. be joined by y.
| la flor roja y bonita | the beautiful red flower | |
| el libro emocionante e interesante | the thrilling and interesting book |
2. surround the noun, with the shorter or less important adjective preceding the noun.
| el joven inmigrante marroquí | the young Moroccan immigrant | |
| un típico restaurante turístico | a typical tourist restaurant |
B. A descriptive adjective indicating an inherent quality of a noun may precede it.*
| la blanca nieve | the white snow | |
| los altos picos | the tall peaks |
C. A descriptive adjective expressing subjectivity precedes the noun.*
| el mejor restaurante | the best restaurant | |
| Es una mala idea. | It’s a bad idea. |
2) Limiting adjectives
Limiting adjectives belong to the category of terms known as determiners: they specify which nouns are under discussion and always precede them.
Por ejemplo…
| mi libro | my book | |
| tu libro | your book |
Types of limiting adjectives
- Demonstrative adjectives
- Exclamative adjectives
- Indefinite adjectives
- Interrogative adjectives
- Numbers
- Possessive adjectives
- Relative adjective
Exceptions
A. The long forms of possessive adjectives always follow the nouns they modify.
| un amigo mío | a friend of mine | |
| el libro tuyo | your book |
B. Ordinal numbers may follow the noun in order to emphasize it.
| la casa segunda | the second house | |
| las fiestas primeras | the first parties |
Related lessons
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