adjectives before or after the noun

What's the scoop on "court(e)"? Une courte pause / des manches courtes. But it's not on any lists that I can find.

0 members like this

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Neil Coffey on March 25, 2012 at 4:20am

I think this is quite a good example of what I mentioned in the other thread.

In "une courte pause", you're not imagining two categories of "short/long" so much as 'measuring'.

In the example with "Manche", on the other hand, you're saying which of two categories- short va long- is involved.

▶ Reply

EducatorPermalink Reply by George Hunt on March 25, 2012 at 9:24pm

Is there anything in common between the change of sense with other adjectives depending on whether they are placed before or after the noun- any kind of a loose rule?

I don't mean like "brave homme" and "homme brave" where the two senses are fairly distinct -just those adjectives where the sense is very similar but the emphasis or the implied context changes (if I have understood correctly).

Or is it just case by case (or group of cases by group of cases) -as I seem to remember being taught at school?

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Neil Coffey on March 26, 2012 at 7:16am

So as a very very vague generalisation, I suppose I would say that the adjective before the noun indicates a more "inherent" property of the noun, whereas afterwards it indicates a less inherent property, one that is more down to judgement or a an arbitrary classification (including a "political" classification such as nationality).

However, you'll easily find exceptions or problematic cases (for a start, colour adjectives practically always come after the noun, yet on one level, colour is an inherent property of matter-- though maybe that's not necessarily how humans tend to envisage it).