In Spanish, the normal position is sustantivo + adjetivo. Una casa grande, un coche rojo, unas manos frías. The adjective goes behind when it describes a direct and neutral quality of the noun. This is how information is presented clearly, without special emphasis on the descriptive word. This order appears with the majority of the Adjetivos Descriptivos and follows the same logic of Concordancia Adjetival: the adjective adjusts to the accompanying noun.

Basic order of the descriptive adjective

Idea
In Spanish, the adjective usually goes after the noun when it only describes a quality.
That order sounds neutral and clear in most descriptions.
If the adjective goes after, it normally provides objective information about the thing.

Some adjectives go before the noun. It usually happens with buen, mal, primer, tercer, poco, mucho and with forms like nuevo in certain uses. Dices un buen amigo, la primera página, poca agua, muchas personas. In this position, the adjective not only describes: it also organizes the listener's attention. The noun is foregrounded, and the adjective provides a valuation, a quantity or a very marked reference. With Adjetivos Numerales and with some Adjetivos Demostrativos, that placement follows fixed patterns.

Common uses of the adjective before the noun

Usage	Explanation
Affective valuation	We use the adjective before the noun when we want to give a more expressive appraisal.
Quantity or frequency	We place the adjective before the noun when it indicates approximate quantity or frequency.
Order and sequence	We put the adjective before the noun when it indicates position or sequence.
Positive intensity	The adjective usually goes before the noun when it reinforces a favorable impression.

The position can change the nuance. Un viejo amigo usually means a friend of long time; un amigo viejo is a friend who is elderly. Un gran problema sounds more value-laden than un problema grande, which only talks about size or magnitude. Pobre hombre expresses compassion; hombre pobre describes lack of money. Before the noun, the adjective tends to sound more subjective, more global or more expressive. After the noun, the meaning is usually more literal and descriptive.

Nuances that the position changes

Idea
With some adjectives, the position changes the sense or nuance.
When the adjective goes before, it can sound more affectionate or more figurative.
When the adjective goes after, it tends to sound more literal or descriptive.

When several adjectives appear, the natural order usually goes from the most general or closest to the noun to the most specific. First comes quantity, then quality, and then origin or class: tres grandes casas antiguas; dos camisas blancas italianas. It is also normal to join them like: una pequeña mesa redonda de madera. The adjective of quantity or number opens the group, the descriptive stays near the noun and the origin or provenance tends to go last. If an adjective is already part of the usual name, it is not placed as an extra free one.

Natural sequence of several adjectives

Idea
When there are several adjectives, the general quality usually comes before the specific one.
Quantity information normally appears before the description.
If an adjective indicates origin, it usually goes after the quality adjective.

There are adjectives that almost always occupy a fixed position because they form very established expressions. La mera idea, la propia casa, el mismo día, la actual situación, el futuro marido. In other combinations, the order is also learned as part of the expression: bajo control, alto precio, pleno centro. In proper names and titles, the adjective can go after to identify, as in Mar Mediterráneo, or before to give a habitual tone in certain formulas. With these expressions, the order is not chosen freely word by word.

The adjective changes gender and number to agree with the noun, whether before or after. Un chico alto, una chica alta, unos chicos altos, unas chicas altas. The position does not change that rule. If the adjective ends in -o, it usually varies in masculine and feminine: rojo and roja. If it ends in -e or in a consonant, it normally keeps the form in singular and changes in plural: fácil and fáciles, inteligente e inteligentes. The agreement remains the same in Concordancia Adjetival even if the adjective is before the noun.

Posición en comparaciones y superlativos

Idea
En las comparaciones, el adjetivo suele ir después de la estructura comparativa.
En el superlativo, el adjetivo normalmente va después del artículo y del intensificador.
En expresiones fijas de comparación, el adjetivo mantiene su forma habitual.

In comparisons, the adjective usually goes after the verb ser or another linking verb: más alto que, menos caro que, tan rápido como. The fixed structure is comparative + que or como + second element. In the superlative, the adjective is also normally placed after the noun or next to the linking verb: el edificio más alto, la película más interesante, es muy útil. With Adjetivos Numerales and other modifiers, the comparative and the superlative maintain their own place within the sentence, without breaking the agreement of the adjective.

Position in comparisons and superlatives

Idea
In comparisons, the adjective usually goes after the comparative structure.
In the superlative, the adjective normally goes after the article and the intensifier.
In fixed expressions of comparison, the adjective keeps its usual form.