grammar.adjectives.position-meaning-change
Adjectives that change meaning by position
Un viejo amigo (longtime friend) vs un amigo viejo (elderly); un gran libro (great) vs un libro grande (big); pobre, único, mismo, antiguo, cierto, nuevo all shift.
⚠ Stub: AI-drafted outline, not yet reviewed. The structure is permanent; the content will be expanded.
grammarB1stubdraftv0.1.0
Explanation
Key pairs — before / after the noun: gran/grande (great / big), viejo (longtime / old), pobre (pitiable / poor), único (only / unique), antiguo (former / ancient), nuevo (another, newly acquired / brand-new), cierto (a certain / true), mismo (same / -self), puro (sheer / pure).
Rule of thumb: before the noun = figurative or evaluative; after = literal and classifying.
Examples
Es un viejo cliente de la casa.
He's a longtime client of the firm.
He's a longtime client of the firm.
Region: global
Compró un auto nuevo... bueno, un nuevo auto usado.
He bought a brand-new car... well, another used car.
He bought a brand-new car... well, another used car.
Region: global