Getting adjectives in the correct position in Italian is very important because in certain cases it can completely change the meaning of the sentence. A great example of this is the classic television advert for Boldrini’s Cinghiale paint brushes.

Vigile: “Ma cosa fa con quell’arnese? Ostacola il traffico!” Imbianchino: "Devo dipingere una parete grande e ci vuole un pennello grande". Vigile: "Non ci vuole un pennello grande, ma un grande pennello: Cinghiale".

Traffic Policeman: “What are you doing with that contraption? You’re blocking the traffic!” Decorator: “I’ve got to paint a big wall and I need a big brush”. Traffic Policeman: “You don’t need a big brush, you need a great brush: Cinghiale”.

As you can see from this example, by simply moving the position of the adjective grande, it takes on a different meaning. In the first instance: grande means ‘big’. However, when we put grande before pennello it takes on the meaning of ‘great’ as in ‘very good quality’. So, to clarify: pennello grande = big brush; grande pennello = very good quality brush.

Now let’s look at some common examples of adjectives that change their meaning depending on their position in relation to the noun:

the adjectives grande/i (big), buono/a/i/e (good), and povero/a/i/e (poor) have a literal meaning when they follow the noun:
È una donna grande = She is a big woman
È un uomo buono = He is a good man
È una donna povera = She is a poor woman (i.e. without money)

However when these same adjectives precede the noun they take on a more metaphoric meaning:
È una gran donna = She is a great woman (N.B. we drop the ‘-de’ from grande for pronunciation reasons)
È un buon uomo = He is a naive man
È una povera donna = She is an unfortunate woman

Here are a few more adjectives that change meaning according to their position:
Certo/a/i/e: e.g. certe notizie sono sconvolgenti = certain pieces of news are upsetting, but non ci sono ancora notizie certe sull’incidente = there’s still no definite news about the accident 

Diverso/a/i/e: e.g il clima è influenzato da diversi fattori = the weather is influenced by several factors, but il clima è influenzato da fattori diversi = the weather is influenced by different factors

Numeroso/a/i/e: e.g. numerose famiglie sono rimaste senza elettricità = many families have been left without electricity, but le famiglie numerose erano più comuni nel passato = big families were more common in the past

Semplice/i: e.g. è una semplice operazione = it’s just an operation, but è un’operazione semplice = it’s an easy operation

Unico/a/i/che: e.g. ho un’unica foto del mio bisnonno materno = I’ve only got one photo of my maternal great grandfather, but questa è una foto unica del mio bisnonno materno = this is a unique photo of my maternal great grandfather

Vecchio/a/i/e: e.g. Maria è una mia vecchia amica d’infanzia = Maria is an old friend from my childhood, but Maria è un’amica vecchia = Maria is an elderly friend