Why is 'mejor' before the noun 'amiga' in the spanish term 'best friend'?

[5KidzRUs]

Why is 'mejor' before the noun 'amiga' in the spanish term 'best friend'?

I thought the nous goes first?

Thanks!

[bluemongoose]

We learned it amiga mejor not mejor amiga...weird! Where are you seeing it that way?

[5KidzRUs]

In my daughters college class - that is what the teacher said - and I looked it up on google and saw the same order on several sites.

[Chrystal]

My Spanish exchange student says "that's just the way it is because that is how it is".

I guess that means that there is no reason. Maybe because it doesn't really describe the friend, but is part of the name of the friend?

 

Oh, and she says it is mejor amiga.

[5KidzRUs]

Do you think it is just an Americanized term?

[Hillary in KS]

"Mejor amigo" is how it's usually said. (Or "mejor amiga," for a girl)

 

In most cases, the noun comes before the adjective. However, you *can* use the adjective first if you are placing particular emphasis on the adjective. Especially if you're using superlative adjectives like "The best," or "the worst," etc.

 

The only times I remember hearing "amigo mejor" is in poetry, or when the writer is using some sort of linguistic or poetic license.

 

People will understand "amigo mejor," but it sounds odd to the ear.

[JVA]

Yes- it is PROPER Spanish to place the adjective after the noun.....but as our own language has become corrupted and we've strayed from proper English grammar, so has Spanish......It's important to know how proper or relaxed a speaker, class or text is so we can respond accordingly.

 

Another example I've noticed in the last 10 years with Spanish is that the present tense is used far more than is actually proper. While the future, conditional or even the subjunctive tense SHOULD be used (that's how it was taught in my textbooks 20-30 years ago), the present tense is most often the one spoken. Took me awhile to get used to it.

 

It would be nice if everyone followed the same rules, wouldn't it?

[Ravin]

I'm pretty sure I always learned that descriptive adjectives go after the noun, while superlatives go before. Mejor amigo, buenas noches, etc. are all proper Spanish.

[Laurie4b]

I'm pretty sure I always learned that descriptive adjectives go after the noun, while superlatives go before. Mejor amigo, buenas noches, etc. are all proper Spanish.

 

There is also the contruction buen idea, too, isn't there?

It just seems that a few particular adjectives do come first. Maybe they don't all have to be superlatives?

[Matryoshka]

From our Spanish text (Spanish the Easy Way) italics and bolding original to text:

 

1. Bueno and malo, being common adjectives, are usually placed before the noun, unlike most descriptive Spanish adjectives. In that position bueno shortens to buen; malo to mal.

 

2. For emphasis only, bueno and malo may be placed after the noun. In that position bueno and malo never lose the o.

 

(and this same rule follows for the comparative and superlatives of bueno and malo - mejor and peor).

[Mabelen]

Mejor amigo, buenas noches, etc. are all proper Spanish.

 

Yup! Perfectly good and proper Spanish. Sometimes using the adjective before the noun versus after the noun changes the meaning of the phrase, sometimes it just reflects the subjective feelings of the speaker rather than a change in meaning.