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.)