Before or after the noun? | Adjective placement in Italian
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- Опубліковано 26 вер 2024
- In this Q&A-style video, teachers Mark and Francesca from Coffee Break Italian answer learner John’s question about whether certain adjectives come before or after the noun in Italian. You may have heard the word "grande", for example, placed both before and after a noun in Italian. In this video, Francesca provides us with some varied examples to explain how adjective placement can change the meaning of a sentence.
Here are the phrases included in this video:
• Mauro è un attore grande.
• Mauro è un grande attore.
• Serena è un'amica vecchia di mia madre.
• Serena è una vecchia amica di mia madre.
• Vorrei un cellulare nuovo.
• Vorrei un nuovo cellulare.
Make sure you watch the full video to hear a full explanation about Italian adjective placement. We've provided subtitles in English which can be turned on using the Subtitles/CC button.
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I always appreciate your clear explanations, examples, and videos! Grazie!
This has been really helpful, thank you. With nuovo, it seems that when it's before the noun it's like saying "new-to-me" rather than "fresh-out-the-box-new" (as it would be after the noun) - much easier making that important distinction in Italian than in English where several words are required.
Ciao! We're so glad it was helpful 😊
These videos are excellent! Not too long and very informative. Complimenti!
Ciao! We're glad you like them 😊
I listen to your podcasts and watch so è of these videos and I have to compliment you on how well you teach the subject. Grazie mille entrambi Mark e Francesca!!
Mi piacciono i tuoi video, sono chiari e veloce grazie ragazzi
Thankyou this has helped a lot , a lot if what I've done is guess work , not always right !
We're delighted to hear the video has helped!
Grazie Mille, just discovered your videos, very helpful and informative.
Grazie Mille. Complimenti
That was great Mark and Francesca. Grazie!
Our pleasure! Grazie mille 😊
Perfetto grazie
infatti both of you great
Why wouldn't you say, "Vorrei un altro cellulare," to indicate that you just want an additional / another (un altro) phone?
Perfect. However, i still seem not to have undestood the difference between "una bella donna" and "una donna bella".
Vida è un alto tra i miei amici
So clear and helpful! Thank you.
Glad it was helpful!
After listening to the podcast it feels strange seeing them. But In a good way not bad
Wouldn’t Italians understand you if you just used adjectives before the noun like in england? It makes sense and if I say Grande Caffe con latte e duo zucchero, im sure they would realise i dont speak italian and would make it out but would that work in another context?
Ciao 👋 Thank you for your answer. Yes, Italians would definitely understand you if you happened to place the adjective before the noun - we do love when foreigners speak our language! However, in order to sound more Italian and to reach fluency, it is worth thinking about the position of the adjective. There are some cases where the position of the adjective affects its meaning: un vecchio amico means “an old friend” (as in “a friend you’ve known for a long time”) whereas un amico vecchio indicates a friend who is old in terms of age. Allora, la posizione dell’aggettivo è importante!
@@coffeebreaklanguagesthank you for your answer, this has cleared up any confusion I had for Why Italians place adjectives where they do. Brilliant understanding and answer. Thanks.
So…why would the phrasing be “la prossima domanda” rather than “la domanda prossima”? I can’t seem to wrap my head around that one - it’s actually driving me bonkers! - but no one seems to have any real answer besides the latter “sounds bad”. Why would it be “la prossima domanda” and not the other way around?
Ciao, Jeanne! In Italian, the usual word order for adjectives is to place them after the noun they modify. However, there are some cases, like “prossima domanda,” where the adjective is placed before the noun. This happens with certain adjectives when they convey a particular emphasis or when they are part of specific fixed expressions.
Prossimo/a is one of those adjectives that are often used before the noun to emphasise the idea of “next” or “upcoming.” When Italians say prossima domanda, it conveys a sense of anticipation, as if they are eager to move on to the next topic.
On the other hand, domanda prossima would also be grammatically correct, but it would not have the same natural flow.
We hope this can answer your question but let us know if you have further questions about this topic! 😊
@@coffeebreaklanguages grazie. How about something like “domenica prossima”? How come it goes after the noun in that case?
Ciao di nuovo!
In this case, it is more common among Italian speakers to put the adjective after the noun in the formulation domenica prossima.
However, it is also correct, but perhaps less common, to say la prossima domenica.
The same happens with settimana: both la prossima settimana and la settimana prossima are correct, but some speakers may prefer one or the other.
As we mentioned before, the position of an adjective also depends on whether it is part of a fixed expressions. La prossima domanda is one of these expressions, such as il prossimo lavoro, la prossima riunione, etc…
It is perhaps useful to make note of these expressions with prossimo/a and it’s already great that you have noticed this specificity of the Italian language 🙌
E' facile capire.
E una città grande.Is ti correct?Sto imparado l'italiano con vostro canale.
Ciao! Con l’aggettivo grande puoi usare entrambe le posizioni (prima o dopo il nome). Se usi l’aggettivo grande dopo il nome, significa semplicemente che la città non è piccola. Invece, c’è molta più enfasi quando grande è prima del nome e spesso può anche indicare che la città ha molte da offrire.
Grazie e buono studio!
Perfecto Francesca.. You explain very well.. Thank you
So helpful
That was excellent!