Is there ever a time when an adjective comes in front of a noun in the Spanish langage?

Question

I saw that on a coffee can once and I was suprised. I'm still learning. Why was it in front? It wasn't wrong was it?

Answer 1

Adjectives that are descriptive usually follow the noun they describe.

el chico alto
la chica alta
los libros pequeños
las plumas rojas

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Adjectives of quantity almost always come before the noun. Such adjectives tell how much or how many.

pocos libros
mucha energía
mucho trabajo
pocas casas

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Sometimes, a descriptive adjective can precede the noun. If the adjective is descriptive, but speaks of a quality that is inherent and usually taken for granted, the adjective comes first.

la blanca nieve
the white snow (snow is inherently white)

los altos picos
the tall peaks (peaks are inherently tall)

Check the following website; it is pretty good at explaining all those rules, hope it helps:

Answer 2

Yes there are two cases where they may go before the noun.:
1) Apocope

When a word loses some letters, in here the adjective:
Dia bueno=buen dia
Olor malo=mal olor
Rio grande= gran rio

2)Epithet

It expresses a quality of the noun and it is not necessary,it´s used only as an expressive resort. It may go in front or behind the noun.For eg:

Desde mi ventana veo la verde pradera= I see the green prairie from my window

Answer 3

An adjective in Spanish can go before or after the word(s) it is qualifying.

There are 5 criteria in order to determine its position: logical, psychological, rhythmical, distributional and meaning.


Logical
If the adjective is "especificativo" (it specifies a quality of the noun) then it goes after, for example: tiza blanca, mesa verde
If the adjective is "explicativo" (it explains a quality of the noun) it goes before, for example: mal estado, buena jugada

Psychological
If the adjective is subjective, that is, if it expresses the opinion of the speaker then it goes before, for example: buena jugada

Rhythmical
If the adjective is longer than the noun then it goes after it, for example:chico asustadizo, casa deshabitada

Distributional
If the adjective is rather general it goes before the noun, for example: buen golpe
If the adjective provides some important information then it goes after, for example: calor solar instead of solar calor

Meaning
Sometimes the meaning of the adjective changes depending on whether you place it before or after the noun. For example, pobre hombre (a man you pity) and hombre pobre (a man who is not rich)

Adjective/noun order can also be changed for emphasis or as a poetic license

Answer 4

Yes, in many cases the adjective comes in front of a noun.

Ancient Egypt = Antíguo Egipto
Best Answer = Mejor Respuesta
Far East = Lejano Oriente

Of course the normal rule is that it comes after the noun, but as you can see, sometimes it is not so. It depends on the context.

Answer 5

“Gran” comes before the noun when it means “great” as opposed to “big”
El gran hombre – the great man.
El hombre grande – the big man.

Answer 6

No, in spanish the nouns always come before the adjectives.

Answer 7

yes.

For example, pobre hombre means, "poor man" as in a man who is worthy of sympathy.

on the other hand, hombre pobre also means "poor man," but as in a man without money.