Languages › Italian Adjective Order in Italian Share Flipboard Email Print Hero Images/Getty Images Italian Grammar History & Culture Vocabulary By Michael San Filippo Italian Expert M.A., Italian Studies, Middlebury College B.A., Biology, Northeastern University Michael San Filippo co-wrote The Complete Idiot's Guide to Italian History and Culture. He is a tutor of Italian language and culture. our editorial process Michael San Filippo Updated January 30, 2019 In general Italian adjectives follow the noun: È una lingua difficile. (It is a difficult language.)Marina è una ragazza generosa. (Marina is a generous girl.) Certain common adjectives, however, generally come before the noun: Anna è una cara amica. (Anna is a dear friend.)Gino è un bravo dottore. (Gino is a good doctor.)È un brutt'affare. (It's a bad situation.) The most common adjectives that come before the noun are listed in the table below. Italian Adjectives That Precede Nouns bello beautiful bravo good, able brutto ugly buono good caro dear cattivo bad giovane young grande large; great lungo long nuovo new piccolo small, little stesso same vecchio old vero true But even these adjectives must follow the noun for emphasis or contrast, and when modified by an adverb: Oggi non porta l'abito vecchio, porta un abito nuovo. (Today he is not wearing the old suit, he is wearing a new suit.)Abitano in una casa molto piccola. (They live in a very small house.)