Bueno/buena after noun (2024)

With 'bueno,' subjective judgment tends to precede the noun, e.g., ... un buen amigo ... 'a good friend to me.'

More restrictive, objective observations follow the noun, e.g., ... un amigo bueno ... 'a good person that is a friend of mine.' ... una cosa buena para el turismo.

LaPrincesax3 said:

Now I've learned that Bueno /buena was suppose to go BEFORE the noun because it was an exception to the rule . For example : "buena familia " "buen punto" "buen trabajo" but if this is the case why do we say "cosa buena/mala" what makes it different now??

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Hi there!

In general, Spanish adjectives go after nouns. As you say, there are exceptions. "Bueno", "malo" and "grande" are good examples. These are placed before nouns and are reduced to "buen", "mal" and "gran", respectively. However, they can also be found after the noun, just as the rule says.
Examples:
a. Él es un

. = Él es un

.
b. Él es un

. = Él es un

.
c. Él es un

. = Él es un

. Be careful: these are different in meaning. In the first case, "grande" means large in size. In the second, "gran" means great (large in status).

All quantifiers and possesive adjectives go before nouns, just like in English.

LaPrincesax3 said:

So when it comes to "bueno" you could put it before ("buen" ) or after the noun ?

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Hello.

It´s always "buen" when it goes before a masculine singular noun, e.g. "Mi buen amigo" (*"Mi bueno amigo.") You can never say *"Mi amigo buen."

When "bueno" goes together with another adjective (and it´s the first one), you can say either "bien" or "bueno"; e.g. "Mi bueno/buen y viejo amigo."

Hope this helps. Saludos.

LaPrincesax3 said:

So when it comes to "bueno" you could put it before ("buen" ) or after the noun ?

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But, though the difference is often very subtle, there is a nuance between putting the adjective before or after the noun, as St. Nick points out. Before the noun, it implies a subjective judgement:

Me he comprado un buen coche (I think it's a good car/it's the car I needed/ it will surely last long, etc.)
Me he comprado un coche bueno (it's an expensive, top of the range car)

Saludos

Sorry, actually I´m not sure I answered your question, LaPrincesa, but St. Nick and Lurrezko have already given you a very good reply; I agree.

Un saludo.

LaPrincesax3 said:

Now I've learned that Bueno /buena was suppose to go BEFORE the noun because it was an exception to the rule . For example : "buena familia " "buen punto" "buen trabajo" but if this is the case why do we say "cosa buena/mala" what makes it different now??

Click to expand...

The other foreros have already said, but I'll say it slightly differently:

Bueno, after the noun, has a literal and restrictive meaning--as Lurrezko has pointed out. Before the noun it's much more subjective--as St. Nick has stated. (And often it makes little difference whether you put it before or after.)

If you say "he's a good man," do you mean

he's good and not bad, or do you just mean he's nice, likeable, etc? If you mean literally good and not bad, you'd put the adjective after; if you mean nice and likeable, put it before--in the Spanish sentence, of course. This is a bit of an over-generalization, but I think it will work most of the time.

Saludos