Spanish Grammar Review

Spanish Grammar Review


Adjectives Before Nouns in Spanish

October 04, 2019

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Inherent CharacteristicSubjective, OpinionFollowing the exclamation “QUÉ”Quantity

Hola! Me alegra mucho estar de vuelta. I am very happy to be back podcasting about Spanish grammar! My last grammar podcasts were in June, when we covered Spanish verbs with prepositions. In this lesson, we are going to learn why the adjective sometimes goes before the noun in Spanish.Where have I been all summer?I also host the Medical Spanish Podcast and with the help of my Spanish teacher from the San Pedro Spanish School, Elizabeth Cortez and my friend and interpreter, Sonja Um-Siri, I have been busy making audio lessons that cover Spanish for prenatal care. We cover a lot of grammar in the medical Spanish lessons and they are made to help us communicate with our patients. Therefore, even non-medical providers understand them and find them useful for learning conversational Spanish.What motivated me to start podcasting about Spanish grammar again?I just took part in an incredible course called Deliberate Spanish offered by a guy named Nacho from Spain. He also has a  fantastic YouTube channel: NachoTime Spanish.  As the name implies, the Deliberate Spanish course taught me to be more deliberate when I practice Spanish. For example, instead of just watching Casa de Flores, I often make it into a study session. When I hear a new word or phrase, I write it down to study later.  Then I organize what I learn into mi cuaderno de dudas, and mi cuaderno de dudas has now become the inspiration for the Spanish Grammar Podcast!Why does the adjective sometimes go before the noun?2:25Now let’s talk about adjectives and the where and why of adjective placement. When you are first learning Spanish, you learn that the you must place the adjective after the noun. However, as you advance in your Spanish-speaking ability, you start to notice that the adjective often goes before the noun.  You may even find yourself instinctively placing an adjective before a noun, but when you stop to wonder why, you can’t say. Well, in this lesson, we are going to learn why the adjective sometimes goes before the noun through interactive examples. I hope you find it helpful. Onward!Inherent Characteristic3:03Usually adjectives follow the nouns they describe, but when an adjective describes an inherent or assumed quality it is usually placed before the noun.The city is covered in WHITE snow.La ciudad está cubierta de BLANCA nieve.OJO: Note the use of the preposition DE in this phrase: “cubierta de nieve.”I want to see the TALL building of New York.Quiero ver los ALTOS edificios de Nueva York.Be careful in the STRONG mountain winds.Ten cuidado con el FUERTE viento de las montañas.OJO: Note the use of the preposition CON in this phrase: “ten cuidado con….”We must take advantage of this PRECIOUS life.Hay que aprovechar esta PRECIOSA vida.OJO: Note the absence a preposition after APROVECHAR: “aprovechar esta vida”In all the above examples, the adjective adds unnecessary information. O sea… If you omit the adjective,