CSG227

216 Complete Spanish Grammar

Here is another group of adjectives that usually precede the noun:

• Adjectives that change meaning according to their position relative to the noun they modify. Placing these adjectives before the noun usually underscores an opinion, whether or not it is shared by others. Gompare the change of meaning in the following examples:

Don Quijote es una gran novela.    Don Quixote is a great novel.

Viven en una casa grandę.    They live in a large house.

Few would doubt calling Don Quixote a great novel. Placing the adjective before the noun emphasizes the significance of this work of art. In the second example, grandę, following the noun, describes the size of the house. If we placed grandę before casa, the meaning would change, and we would perceive a great house, adding the idea of “wonderful” or “famous” to the notion of size.

The following list includes other commonly used adjectives that change meaning according to their position with respect to the noun they modify:

Adjective    English equivalent

	BEFORE A NOUN	AETER A NOUN
antiguo, -a, -os, -as	former	ancient
cierto, -a, -os, -as	(a) certain	surę
cualquier	any	any (old) . . .
grandę	great	large
mismo, -a, -os, -as	same	himself, herself
nuevo, -a, -os, -as	different	new
puro, -a, -os, -as	nothing but	pure
simple	simple, easy	unsophisticated
linico, -a, -os, -as	only	unique
viejo, -a, -os, -as	an old (time) . . .	old

Use gran and cualquier, the shortened forms of grandę and cualquiera, before feminine and masculine nouns.

ejercicio

En espańol.

1.    Romeo was the only man for Julie t. _

2.    My old friend Bobby lives in this town.

3.    We only use pure ingredients. _

4.    I am the only person with the solution.

5.    Susie ’s car is old. _

6.    This soup is pure water. _

7.    My cousin Laura is unique. _