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Adjectives: position, short forms and change of meaning

Adjectives usually come after the noun: they sort and specify (un coche rojo, la comida mexicana). They go before to stress an obvious or subjective quality (una hermosa ciudad), and quantities always go before (mucho, poco, otro, cada, varios, numbers).

Short forms before a masculine singular noun

full formbefore the nounexample
bueno, malobuen, malun buen día, un mal momento (but una buena idea)
primero, terceroprimer, tercerel primer piso
alguno, ninguno, unoalgún, ningún, unalgún día, ningún problema
grande (feminine too)granuna gran ciudad
cientocien (before a noun or mil)cien euros, but ciento veinte

Position changes the meaning

beforeafter
un gran hombre — a great manun hombre grande — a big man
un pobre hombre — a poor man (to be pitied)un hombre pobre — a man without money
un viejo amigo — an old (long-time) friendun amigo viejo — an elderly friend
un nuevo coche — another carun coche nuevo — a brand-new car

Nationalities and adjectives in -or: feminine in -a, written in lower case: español → española, alemán → alemana, trabajador → trabajadora.

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