When you first started learning Italian, you probably learned that, unlike in English, adjectives come after the noun they describe. However, there is more to Italian adjective placement than meets the eye.
In fact, there are various adjectives in Italian that can either be placed after or before the noun, and which change their meaning depending on their position.
Italian adjective placement is a topic that many of our Coffee Break Italian learners ask us about, which is why we’ve made it the focus of our latest podcast episode. The Coffee Break Italian Show is an audio and video podcast series, in which we take an in-depth look at interesting Italian topics. In this episode, Francesca and Mark discuss Italian adjective placement and, in particular, the specific adjectives in Italian that can go before or after the noun.
We recommend listening to the podcast episode while you read for further explanation and to hear all of the examples read aloud. And don’t forget to download your free worksheet, so that you can practise what you learn in this article.
Italian adjective placement: the basic rule
The general rule is that adjectives in Italian come after the noun they describe. This might seem straightforward, but it’s different from English, where adjectives typically precede the noun. Here are a couple of examples:
Ho comprato un cappotto verde.
I bought a green coat.
Bolzano è una città italiana.
Bolzano is an Italian city.
These sentences illustrate the standard rule of Italian adjective placement. However, as with many rules, there are exceptions and subtleties. Let’s move onto these now.
Adjectives in Italian that can come before or after the noun
There are some adjectives in Italian that can either precede or follow the noun, but their meaning changes depending on their position.
Let’s explore some common examples.
‘alto’ = tall / high
The basic meaning of the adjective alto or alta is “tall”. For example:
un funzionario alto
a tall official
This phrase tells us that this person is not short (basso).
However, alto/a can also be placed before the noun it describes. Let’s see what happens when this is the case:
Luigi è un alto funzionario.
Luigi is a high-ranking official.
This time, alto is used to describe Luigi’s importance or rank, rather than a physical attribute.
As a general rule, when it comes to Italian adjective placement, if an adjective comes after the noun (as we would usually expect from adjectives in Italian), it carries its basic, more literal meaning. If an adjective comes before the noun, it often carries an alternative, secondary or more figurative meaning.
‘grande’ = big / great
When the adjective grande comes after a noun, it refers to a person’s physical size. For example:
un poeta grande
a large poet
If grande comes before a noun, however, it refers to a person’s significance:
un grande poeta
a great poet
Here, we know that this is an important poet – one who is very good and writes wonderful poetry. For example:
Dante fu un grande poeta.
Dante was a great poet.
Did you notice the interesting verb fu in this example that Francesca used in the episode? Fu comes from essere in the past historic or passato remoto.
‘vecchio’ = old / long-time
When vecchio or vecchia comes after a noun, it refers to a person’s age. For instance:
un’amica vecchia
an old / elderly friend
Just as we saw earlier with alto/a, when it comes to Italian adjective placement, an adjective usually carries its basic, literal meaning when it comes after the noun.
However, when vecchio or vecchia comes before a noun, it carries a slightly different meaning:
Monica è una mia vecchia amica.
Monica is an old friend of mine.
Here, vecchia tells us that Monica is a friend this person has known for a long time, but she could be very young!
‘bello’ = beautiful / good
The next of our adjectives in Italian for this article is bello or bella.
When it comes after a noun, bello/a refers to physical appearance. For example:
una persona bella
a beautiful person
When it comes before a noun, however, it describes a more internal beauty. For example, here it could mean that this person is morally good, generous or has a big heart.
una bella persona
a good person
Remember that the adjective bello/a undergoes spelling changes when it comes before a noun, depending on what comes after it. In fact, it follows the same pattern as the definite articles in Italian.
Note that you may hear bello/a coming before the noun, but still referring to physical beauty. In the episode, Francesca explains that it is very instinctive to put bello/a before the noun, because of the similarities in sound with the definite article.
For example, you may hear:
una bella ragazza
a beautiful girl
un bel ragazzo
a beautiful boy
Here, in everyday conversation, the adjective could still be carrying the basic meaning of “beautiful”, as opposed to “good”, but bello/a is often used in this way, particularly for extra emphasis.
‘buono’ = kind / skilled
Our next adjective is interesting to investigate in terms of Italian adjective placement. When the adjective buono or buona comes after the noun, it refers to goodness in someone’s personal qualities. For example:
un professore buono
a kind teacher
When buono/a comes before a noun, however, it refers to ability, skill or competency:
un buon professore
a good / skilled teacher
Remember that, like bello/a, the adjective buono/a undergoes spelling changes depending on what comes after it.
‘nuovo’ = brand-new / additional
Nuovo/a is also an interesting and commonly used example in the context of Italian adjective placement.
When nuovo/a is placed after a noun, it refers to something that is “new”, as in newly made, or brand-new. For example:
Ho comprato un maglione nuovo.
I bought a new jumper / sweater.
However, in the next example, the jumper could be second-hand:
Hai comprato un nuovo maglione?
Have you bought a new jumper / sweater?
When nuovo/a comes before the noun, it simply means that it is new to the person or owner, and it is often translated as “another”.
That’s it for today’s look at Italian adjective placement and, in particular, the specific adjectives in Italian that change their meaning depending on their position.
Understanding these nuances can seem daunting at first, but don’t let it discourage you. As you read and listen to Italian, notice how native speakers use Italian adjective placement, and try to guess the subtle meanings as a result of this. With time and practice, it will start to feel more intuitive.
For a more detailed explanation of Italian adjective placement, you can watch or listen to the podcast episode with Francesca and Mark on The Coffee Break Italian Show. And by subscribing to our podcast feed or our YouTube channel while you’re there, you’ll be notified when we release our next episode.
In the meantime, for more help with your Italian, you can sign up for our free email lessons, which we send out to Italian learners on a regular basis. Look out for the sign-up box and we hope that you enjoy them.
So, next time you meet someone new or describe something in Italian, think about your Italian adjective placement. Is it un amico vecchio or un vecchio amico? The difference is subtle, but sometimes important!
Happy Coffee Breaking!
