Position of Adjectives

Spanish adjectives (adjetivos) may be found before or after the nouns they modify, depending on various factors.

It is important to be careful when it comes to adjective placement because some adjectives can change their meaning, depending on their location in the sentence.

Rule 1: Usually, an adjective comes after a noun in Spanish.

Rule 2: Numerical adjectives are usually placed before a noun. However, they can also be placed after a noun without changing the meaning.

Rule 3: Adjectives can also be placed before a noun to emphasize the adjective or to give the phrase a literal or poetic tone. However, it is not the natural word order in Spanish and can sound clumsy, so be careful not to overuse them this way.

Rule 4: Some Spanish adjectives change their meaning when placed before or after a noun.

Here is an overview of some common Spanish adjectives that change their meaning, depending on their placement in relation to a noun: