Questions & Answers about Él es un gran bailarín, no un bailarín grande.
Why does the meaning change depending on whether the adjective is before or after bailarín?
In Spanish, placing certain adjectives before the noun gives them a figurative or subjective meaning, while placing them after gives a literal or physical meaning. Here, un gran bailarín means he is a great or highly talented dancer. Placing the adjective after the noun, as in un bailarín grande, refers to his literal physical size: a big or large dancer.
Why is the word gran used instead of grande in the first half of the sentence?
When the adjective grande is placed directly before any singular noun (whether masculine or feminine), it drops the final letters to become gran. Because it comes before bailarín, we must use gran. In the second half of the sentence, the adjective comes after the noun, so it keeps its full form as grande.
I learned not to use words like un or una with professions. Why do we say un gran bailarín here?