About Alicia Casuso Expertise I am Peruvian and have spoken the language during my 26 years of age. I am knowledgeable in the Spanish language, although Castellano language is a more accurate term since there are strong differences of phonetics and grammar between both languages. I can guide anyone who wants a closer approach to Southamerican Spanish. I can also help with Peruvian (specifically of Lima) slang, modisms and idioms. Finally I can give a general help with Peruvian literature and authors such as Mario Vargas Llosa ("Conversacion en la Catedral"), Alfredo Bryce("Un Mundo Para Julius"), Jaime Bayly ("No Se Lo Digas a Nadie"), as well as other Southamerican authors such as Gabriel Garcia-Marquez ("Cien Años de Soledad".)
Experience I have been in AllExperts for nearly 3 years. I am a native Spanish speaker, I am well-read and profficient in formal Spanish. I am also fluent in English, so I will explain with examples and in a clear way. I have also read all of the books mentioned, and have also studied Latinamerican Literature as a credited course in university.
Question What makes this special? Is it the adjective mejor or the sentence itself?
I wrote this,as a joke on a chalk board and was corrected(much to my embarrasment). Afterwards I thought of many other ways I could have said it but I am still wondering why it is wrong.
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Followup To
Question -
Is the wording in this sentence correct? John es mi yerno mejor! Meaning John is my best son-in-law.
Answer -
John,
If you´re trying to say that he is your "best son-in-law" like you say someone is your "best friend", then you would say "John es mi mejor yerno". This is possibly one of the very few cases in which the adjective must precede the noun in Spanish.
But if you´re trying to say that he is your favorite son-in-law, then better say "John es mi yerno preferido".
Hope that helps!
Alicia
Answer As a matter of fact, yes, I'm quite sure it is the adjective "mejor". The same happens with "gran" (but not "grande"), and I'm sure others that I can't remember right now.
Remember that in Spanish you can always place the adjective in front of the noun and it is grammatically correct. Only it will sound so weird as, for example, if in English someone used "thou" instead of "your" all the time. It is only used purposefully in literature.
