Answers
Apr 01, 2014 - 06:45 PM
As I understand it from another forum question on the subject, (café-con-leche) is sort of a compound noun meaning what some would call a latte. The adjective therefore follows the entire noun-entity... (café con leche) grande. Café sin azúcar, on the other hand, is not considered an entity, but as a noun followed by a prepositional phrase. In this case the adjective directly follows the noun café.... café grande sin azúcar. So, with your example, the adjective does follow the noun in both cases. It should be said too, that the adjective does not follow the noun all the time. Depending on the adjective and the meaning desired, the adjective can go before the noun. I;m confident that we will cover these points in the course as we progress a little further. Hope this helps.
Apr 01, 2014 - 11:19 PM
@Banjolover47. Thanks for your comments. You may well be on to something, although I think I remember seeing what seems to be a contradiction in another example. I'll have to go back and look with new eyes. I am also confident this will be clarified in future lessons. I'm hoping others will chime in on this as well. Enjoy your lessons!
Apr 01, 2014 - 11:26 PM
I agree, @Banjolover47.
Ordering "café con leche" is not the same as ordering a "cafe" with milk. In much of Latin America, "café con leche" is a drink and that is how it is ordered, just like you might order a Coca-Coca, water or tea. So to order a large one is the same as ordering any other drink when signifying the size. That's why the "grande" comes afterward. I can't speak for everywhere, but this is certainly the case in Argentina, where I live.
If "cafe con leche" is the name of a drink, then the grammar that Fluenz uses is right: Noun "café con leche" + adjective "grande"
Ordering "café con leche" is not the same as ordering a "cafe" with milk. In much of Latin America, "café con leche" is a drink and that is how it is ordered, just like you might order a Coca-Coca, water or tea. So to order a large one is the same as ordering any other drink when signifying the size. That's why the "grande" comes afterward. I can't speak for everywhere, but this is certainly the case in Argentina, where I live.
If "cafe con leche" is the name of a drink, then the grammar that Fluenz uses is right: Noun "café con leche" + adjective "grande"
Aug 31, 2015 - 11:41 PM
I too was a little lost here. Trying to figure out the rule as to why the adjective "grande" was placed after "cafe con leche" then seeing "cafe con leche grande sin azucar." I also made a thread on this and someone posted a link to here and I then searched WIKI and confirmed. I kind of wish Fluenz would have made this clear from the start to avoid confusion. Thank you for clearing this up for us!
Sep 02, 2015 - 05:51 AM
Hi everyone,
You are absolutely spot on.While, in general, you will be fine to place the adjective after the noun in Spanish: Un café pequeño - A small coffee
When we ask for: Un café con leche pequeño, of course, we aren’t asking for a “coffee with small milk” here.
As Ayden said, "café con leche" is such a common way to ask for coffee in Latin America that it is almost a noun in itself. So in a sense we are asking for a “small milk coffee” rather than a “small coffee with milk”.
Now, it wouldn't be entirely wrong if we'd stuck to our rule and said:
Un café pequeño con leche
The very, very subtle difference is that here you are almost asking for a small black coffee that you will later add milk to. As always there are regional variances.
You are absolutely spot on.While, in general, you will be fine to place the adjective after the noun in Spanish: Un café pequeño - A small coffee
When we ask for: Un café con leche pequeño, of course, we aren’t asking for a “coffee with small milk” here.
As Ayden said, "café con leche" is such a common way to ask for coffee in Latin America that it is almost a noun in itself. So in a sense we are asking for a “small milk coffee” rather than a “small coffee with milk”.
Now, it wouldn't be entirely wrong if we'd stuck to our rule and said:
Un café pequeño con leche
The very, very subtle difference is that here you are almost asking for a small black coffee that you will later add milk to. As always there are regional variances.