Quality words – those which describe
an inherent characteristic, although
in other contexts will go after the
noun.
El frío hielo – it’s a characteristic
of ice that it’s cold
Los pies fríos – it isn’t a
characteristic of the feet
antiguo
El antiguo armario – the old fashioned
cupboard
El armario antiguo - the antique cupboard
viejo
Mi vieja amiga – my long-standing friend
Mi amiga vieja – my elderly friend
nuevo
Su nuevo coche – his new (to him) car
Su coche nuevo – his brand new straight
from the factory car
pobre
Esa pobre familia – that poor family, in the
sense that they’re going through a bad time,
not necessarily financially.
Esa familia pobre – that poor family, in the
sense that they are financially poor.
grande
Adjectives which change the
meaning with their position
These, when placed before the
noun, give the sentence a subjective
meaning, perhaps an opinion, but
when placed after the noun, give a
factual or objective meaning.
This isn’t all of them, but they should
help give you an idea.
Un gran edificio – a great building
Un edificio grande – a big building
medio
una media pizza – half a pizza
una pizza media – an average, or medium
sized pizza