In Spanish some adjectives are shortened (apocopation) with the deletion of certain final letters of the word when they are in before a noun.
Qualifying adjectives as bueno and malo or ordinal number as primero and tercero loose final vowel when they appear before a singular masculine substantive:
- Example: mal tiempo; buen amigo; primer tiempo; tercer corredor.
- We don’t say: malo tiempo; bueno amigo; primero tiempo; tercero corredor.
Primero and tercero are shortened when they are part of composed ordinals:
- Example: vigésimotercer cumpleaños; trigésimo primer concurso.
They are also shortened when a word appears between them and the substantive:
- Example: un mal segundo novio; un buen primer plato; su primer gran golpe.
- We don’t say: un malo segundo novio; un bueno primero plato; su primero gran golpe.
Apocopation is optional when they are coordinated with other adjective:
- Example: bueno y cariñoso amigo / buen y cariñoso amigo; malo y desafortunado momento / mal y desafortunado momento; tercero y último partido / tercer y último partido.
Adjective grande is shortened as gran when it appears before a singular substantive (masculine or feminine). A word between the adjective and substantive doesn’t change it.
- Example: Una gran mujer; un gran primer puesto.
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