I was reading Revelation 19:15 today, which says, in part:
Y de su boca sale una aguda espada larga
In English, the "aguda espada larga" portion of this sentence is "sharp long sword."
Why in Spanish is it "sharp sword long"?
Is this the norm - when there are two adjectives modifying a noun, they are split, one before the noun, and one after?
If so, would "larga espada aguda" be just as acceptable?
Could both adjectives trail the noun, such as "espada aguda larga" or "espada larga aguda"?
The only rule is that adjectives that are assigned some subjective value by the speaker will tend to appear before the noun, while those that have a more objective value will tend to come after it.
There is also another rule which sets forth that, whenever there is more than one adjective either before or after the noun, they will tend to be separated by commas or by a conjunction such as "and" (although some other might be used).
Since this separation of adjectives by commas or a conjunction can be either stylistically poor or heavy, the speaker may decide to place the adjective(s) he considers more subjective in front position and leave the one(s) he deems to be more objective in end position. This might be the case with the noun phrase "aguda espada larga". However, all these would be equally correct:
The comma alone will generally not be used to separate adjectives in end position, and a conjunction will usually be required to separate the last two members of any series of adjectives appearing after a noun. In front position, commas without a final conjunction will be allowed, but a poetic effect will ensue.
