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Spanish (Spain)

### Placement Matters: Objective vs. Subjective

In Spanish, most adjectives are placed after the noun they describe. However, a special group of adjectives can be placed *before* the noun. When this happens, their meaning changes!

As a general rule, an adjective placed **after** the noun has a literal, objective meaning. Placed **before** the noun, it takes on a more figurative, subjective, or emotional meaning.

### Penniless vs. Unfortunate

Take the word **pobre**. After the noun, it means "poor" in the financial sense (penniless). Before the noun, it means "poor" in the emotional sense (unfortunate or pitiable).

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Similarly, **simple** means "simple-minded" or "basic" when it follows the noun, but it translates to a "mere" when it precedes the noun.

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### Greatness and Rank

When **grande** comes before a singular noun (whether masculine or feminine), it shortens to **gran**. While *grande* after a noun means physically "big" or "large", *gran* before a noun means "great" or "important".

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The adjective **alto** follows a similar pattern regarding physical traits versus status. After the noun, it means physically "tall". Before the noun, it means "top" or "high-ranking".

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### Time and Age

Adjectives related to age and novelty also shift in meaning. **Nuevo** after a noun means "brand-new" or newly made. Before a noun, it means "newly acquired" or "another".

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Finally, **viejo** after a noun means "elderly" or physically old. Placed before the noun, it refers to a "longtime" or "former" relationship.

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Meaning-changing adjectives

adjective

adverb

conjunction

contraction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Singular subjects and 'ser' (yo soy, esto es)

Plural nouns and definite articles (los, las)

Plural pronouns and 'ser' (somos, sois, son)

Adjective agreement (-o, -a, -os, -as)

Indefinite articles (un, una, unos, unas)

Simple negation (no)

Yes/no questions

Regular '-ar' verbs (-o, -as, -a...)

Regular '-er' verbs (-o, -es, -e...)

Regular '-ir' verbs (-o, -es, -e...)

Locative adverbs (aquí, allí)

Question words (quién, cómo)

The verb estar (estoy, estás)

The preposition en (en)

Ser vs. estar

The verb tener (tengo, tienes)

Possessive determiners (mi, tu, su)

Origin and possession (de, del)

The verb ir (voy, vas)

Destination (a, al)

The personal 'a' (a)

Stem-changing verbs: e to ie

Stem-changing verbs: o to ue

Irregular first-person verbs

Reflexive verbs (me, te, se)

Numbers 1 to 10 (uno, dos, tres)

Numbers 11 to 20 (once, doce, trece)

Counting by tens to 100 (treinta, cuarenta, cien)

Compound numbers up to 99 (veintiuno, treinta y uno)

Days of the week (el lunes, el martes)

The family and the personal 'a' (a mi tío, a mi prima)

Months of the year

Telling time (es la, son las)

Verbs of liking (me gusta)

Plural agreement with verbs of liking (gustan)

Degree modifiers (muy, mucho)

Formal address (usted, ustedes)

Direct object pronouns (lo, la, los, las)

The near future (ir a)

Obligation (tener que)

Present continuous (-ando, -iendo)

Affirmative commands (tú, vosotros)

Basic Food and Drink

The Human Body: Head and Arms

The Human Body: Legs and Health

Wardrobe Essentials

Fresh Produce

Meals and Proteins

Public Transport

Hello and goodbye (hola, ¿qué tal?)

Thank you, sorry, OK (gracias, vale)

There is, there are (hay)

My building (la escalera, el ascensor)

Describing people (moreno, rubio, tímido)

Land and sea (el mar, el río, el norte)

Sightseeing (la plaza, la catedral)

Asking the way (cerca, a la derecha, todo recto)

In class (¿puedes repetir?)

Verb + infinitive (quiero comer, sé leer)

What's your name? (me llamo, encantado)

Phone, computer and email

Hundreds and thousands (doscientos, mil)

What do you do? (¿a qué te dedicas?)

Personal details (la edad, la fecha de nacimiento)

Me neither (también, tampoco, ni)

How much is it? (el precio, la vuelta)

What's the weather like? (hace sol, nieva)

Free time (el concierto, el tenis)

At the bar (¿qué vas a tomar?)

The Natural World

Demonstratives (este, ese, aquel)

Prepositions of place (encima de, debajo de)

Prepositional pronouns (para mí, contigo)

Ordinal numbers 1st to 10th (primero to décimo)

Adverbs of frequency (a veces, nunca)

Exclamations (¡qué...!)

Indefinite pronouns (algo, alguien)

Indefinite determiners (algún, ningún)

Indirect object pronouns (le, les)

Double object pronouns (me lo, te la)

Double object pronouns (se lo, se la)

Verbs of preference (encantar, interesar)

Impersonal obligation (hay que)

Starting and finishing actions (empezar a, terminar de)

Adjective comparatives (más que, menos que)

Comparatives of equality (tan como)

Noun comparatives (tanto como)

Question	Answer
poor	pobre
the general	el general
He is an unfortunate general who lost his army.	Es un pobre general que perdió su ejército.
The penniless man lives on the street.	El hombre pobre vive en la calle.
simple (mere, basic)	simple
the politician	el político
It was a mere error of the politician.	Fue un simple error del político.
She is a very simple-minded woman.	Ella es una mujer muy simple.
great (important)	grande
For me, she is a great politician.	Para mí, ella es una gran política.
He is a big and fat politician.	Él es un político grande y gordo.
the biography	la biografía
I bought another biography of the queen.	Compré una nueva biografía de la reina.
I read a brand-new biography yesterday.	Leí una biografía nueva ayer.
the hero	el héroe
My longtime hero no longer fights.	Mi viejo héroe ya no lucha.
The elderly hero rests in the hospital.	El héroe viejo descansa en el hospital.
the heroine	la heroína
What a unique heroine!	¡Qué heroína tan única!
The unfortunate emperor lost the war.	El pobre emperador perdió la guerra.
A penniless general has no soldiers.	Un general pobre no tiene soldados.
The king was a great man.	El rey fue un gran hombre.
The king was a big man.	El rey fue un hombre grande.
brave	valiente
Our longtime friend is very brave.	Nuestro viejo amigo es muy valiente.
He is a high-ranking government official.	Él es un alto funcionario del gobierno.
He is a tall official.	Él es un funcionario alto.
to govern	gobernar
Who is going to govern this great country?	¿Quién va a gobernar este gran país?
the battle	la batalla
The poor heroine is brave in the great battle.	La pobre heroína es valiente en la gran batalla.
A mere soldier does not govern after the battle.	Un simple soldado no gobierna después de la batalla.
own; … himself, herself (emphatic)	propio
The general has his own army.	El general tiene su propio ejército.
The heroine wrote her own biography.	La heroína escribió su propia biografía.
The king himself fought in the battle.	El propio rey luchó en la batalla.
former, ex- (before the noun)	antiguo
The former president wrote his own biography.	El antiguo presidente escribió su propia biografía.
Yesterday I saw my former boss on the metro.	Ayer vi a mi antiguo jefe en el metro.
a certain (before a noun)	cierto
At a certain moment, the hero was afraid.	En cierto momento, el héroe tuvo miedo.
A certain person told me something that wasn't true.	Cierta persona me dijo algo que no era cierto.

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