Adjective Position

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Posizione dell’aggettivo

Italian adjectives may be found before or after the nouns they modify, depending on various factors. There are two main categories of adjectives: descriptive adjectives, which usually follow nouns, and limiting adjectives, which precede nouns.

1. Descriptive adjectives

Descriptive adjectives are what you think of when someone says "adjective." Also known as qualifying adjectives, they describe a quality of a noun (color, size, shape …), distinguish between different nouns of the same type, and usually* follow the nouns they modify.

Per esempio…

il libro verde		the green book
il libro rosso		the red book

 * Adjectives like nuovo (new), piccolo (small), and giovane (young) can be placed in front of the noun for emphasis.

2. Limiting adjectives

Limiting adjectives belong to the category of terms known as determiners: they specify which nouns are under discussion and always precede them.

Per esempio…

questo libro		this book
quel libro		that book

Types of limiting adjectives

• Demonstrative adjectives
• Exclamative adjectives
• Indefinite adjectives
• Interrogative adjectives
• Numbers
• Possessive adjectives
• Relative adjective

 Related lessons

• Introduction to adjectives
• Nouns
   

 En español

• Posición del adjetivo
   

 En français

• Position des adjectifs
   

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