SPI 214 Adjectives...

An adjective is a word that describes a noun or pronoun, while there are different kinds of adjectives; the adjective that tends to cause the most problems is the DESCRIPTIVE ADJECTIVE.
 
In English, a descriptive adjective does not change … The red school, the red car, the red shirts, the red birds
In Spanish, the descriptive adjective must agree in number and in gender with the noun, it modifies, but we know this, so there’s no need to talk about it right now.
 
Usually in Spanish adjectives that describe qualities come AFTER the noun it modifies. I like to tell my Beginning Spanish students that here in the US we tend to highlight the description, make things seem better, bigger, faster, more expensive … than they really are. For example, I want a candy-apple red, 1967, Mustang convertible with black interior. Whereas in the rest of the world, in this case Spanish the most important thing is the car, all of those excessive words to describe the car are extra.
 
 
The general rule of thumb for placement of descriptive adjective is the more essential and informative the adjective is to the meaning of the sentence, the more likely it should go AFTER the noun.
 
Colors: La casa blanca

Shapes: la mesa redonda

Adjectives indicating membership or classification: (including adjectives of nationality) Una profesora mexicana, la iglesia católica

Adjectives modified by an adverb or phrase: una taza llena de agua.

Multiple adjectives: la casa grande y cara

 

Adjectives that come before the noun:

Adjectives of appreciation: By placing an adjective before the noun, you can sometimes indicate a certain amount of appreciation for that quality and/or a certain amount of emphasis.

For example: Ella es una maestra buena… she’s a good teacher.  Or Ella es una buena maestra. She’s a really, good teacher

Reinforcing adjectives: Adjectives that "go with" the noun are placed before the noun, these adjectives are “decorative” they can be omitted from the sentence, and the information would still be relayed. Los altos picos de los Andes, el horrible monstruo, una oscura noche

Quantitative or non-descriptive adjectives: pocos libros, raras veces, tres perros

Words that express subjective judgment: bueno, malo, mejor, peor, grande, maldito, condenando, mero