Adjectives and nouns

eliza w.A2Kwiziq community member

Adjectives and nouns

This may not be related to this lesson but how do you know when to add 'de' in between the adjective and the noun? For example:

No leiste ningún libro de italiano. (Here there is a 'de' in between 'libro'and 'italiano'.)

La florista no vende ninguna flor amarilla. (Here 'flor'and 'amarilla' are together)

How do you know when to add a 'de'?

Thanks.


Asked 3 years ago
InmaKwiziq team member

Hola Eliza

In Spanish you can have adjectives that accompany the noun directly, like "flor amarilla", "coche grande" or "mesa redonda", for example, and other adjectives that need "de" in front, like "libro de italiano" (this would refer to a book about Italian, a grammar book) or for example "árbol de Navidad" (Christmas tree), "luna de miel" (honeymoon) or "examen de historia" (history exam).

We have a lesson about this use of "de" that tells you the most common themes/contexts when we use it. Have a look here. I hope it helps.

Saludos

Inma

 

 

Marcos G.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

I've noticed that if you have two nouns then you use "de".

Inma's examples follow the form "noun de noun".  "luna de miel":  luna and miel are both nouns.  "examen de historia":  examen and historia are both nouns.  "árbol de Navidad":  árbol is a noun and Navidad is a proper noun.

So in the case of "libro de italiano" we're thinking of the word "italiano" as a noun, as in "the Italian language".  If we wrote "libro italiano" we would be thinking of "italiano" as an adjective, as in "an italian book".

Once you're aware of this pattern you'll see it used all the time.

Adjectives and nouns

This may not be related to this lesson but how do you know when to add 'de' in between the adjective and the noun? For example:

No leiste ningún libro de italiano. (Here there is a 'de' in between 'libro'and 'italiano'.)

La florista no vende ninguna flor amarilla. (Here 'flor'and 'amarilla' are together)

How do you know when to add a 'de'?

Thanks.


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