Where do you put the adjective - ADJECTIVES - Easy Learning Italian Grammar

Easy Learning Italian Grammar (2011)

ADJECTIVES

5. Where do you put the adjective?

You put most adjectives AFTER the noun.

un gesto spontaneo

a spontaneous gesture

una partita importante

an important match

capelli biondi

blonde hair

Note that if you have two adjectives you link them with e (meaning and).

ragazze antipatiche e

nasty rude girls

maleducate

The meaning of some adjectives changes depending on whether they come after or before the noun.

gente povera

poor people BUT

Povera Anna!

Poor (meaning unfortunate) Anna!

un uomo grande

a big man BUT

una grande sorpresa

a great surprise

una macchina nuova

a new car BUT

la sua nuova ragazza

his new (meaning latest) girlfriend

una casa vecchia

an old house BUT

un mio vecchio amico

an old (meaning long-standing) friend of mine

una borsa cara

an expensive handbag BUT

un caro amico

a dear friend

Note that if you add molto (meaning very) to an adjective, the adjective always goes after the noun.

una bella casa

a nice house

una casa molto bella

a very nice house

Some types of adjectives always go in front of the noun:

adjectives that are used to point things out, such as questo (meaning this) and quello (meaning that)

Questo cellulare è di mio fratello.

This mobile phone is my brother’s.

Quello studente è un mio amico.

That student is a friend of mine.

For more information on Demonstrative adjectives, see page 30.

possessive adjectives such as mio (meaning my), tuo (meaning your) and suo (meaning his or her)

mio padre

my father

tuo fratello

Your brother

suo marito

her husband

ogni (meaning each, every), qualche (meaning some) and nessuno (meaning no)

ogni giorno

every day

qualche volta

sometimes

Non c’è nessun bisogno di andare.

There’s no need to go.

For more information on Indefinite adjectives, see page 37.

question words

Quali programmi hai?

What plans have you got?

Quanto pane hai comprato?

How much bread did you buy?

For more information on Questions, see page 152.

Key points

Most Italian adjectives go after the noun.

The meaning of some adjectives changes depending on whether they come before or after the noun.