the placing of the adjective before the noun renders the meaning vague, figurative, emotional, or generic, whereas it would be clearly descriptive and precise were the adjective in its normal position:
| il dolce sapore | the taste sweet |
| il leggero rumore | the noise faint |
(In English the normal position of the adjective is before the noun. The permutation develops a strong rhetorical flavor, of which the child will become conscious later in his studies on poetic inversions.—Tr.)
After the teacher has made these changes, if they have interested the child, she may say for example: "The adjective comes after its noun" (for Italian); "The adjective comes before its noun" (for English). In this way she will have given a lesson in theoretical grammar.
Inflection of Adjectives
(Exclusively for the Italian language)
Another exercise to be done at the table deals with the formation of the singular and plural of adjectives in the two genders. This exercise brings the child in contact with a great many adjectives of quality. Two series, one of twenty masculine, the other of twenty feminine adjectives (in the two numbers) and two other series, twenty singulars and twenty plurals (in the two genders), form four groups of cards, one-half of which (tied separately) serves to direct the placing of the other half. Here are the words in their groups:
| Singolare | Plurale |
| acuto | acuti | sharp |
| allegro | allegri | joyous |
| attenta | attente | careful, attentive |
| basso | bassi | low |
| buona | buone | good |
| caldo | caldi | hot |
| cattiva | cattive | bad |
| dolce | dolci | sweet |
| duro | duri | hard |
| educata | educate | educated, well mannered |
| felice | felici | happy |
| fredda | fredde | cold |
| grande | grandi | large |
| grazioso | graziosi | graceful, pretty |
| gioiosa | gioiose | merry |
| gentile | gentili | kind |
| italiano | italiani | Italian |
| rabbioso | rabbiosi | angry |
| largo | larghi | broad |
| lento | lenti | slow |
| malata | malate | ill |
| odorosa | odorose | fragrant |
| arioso | ariose | airy |
| prezioso | preziosi | precious |
| piena | piene | full |
| pesante | pesanti | heavy |
| pulito | puliti | clean |
| rozza | rozze | rough, uncouth |
| rosso | rossi | red |
| robusta | robuste | robust |
| sincero | sinceri | sincere |
| studioso | studiosi | studious |
| stretto | stretti | narrow |
| stupida | stupide | stupid |
| vecchia | vecchie | old |
| morbido | morbide | soft |
| leggiera | leggiere | light (weight) |
| lunga | lunghe | long |
| grosso | grossi | thick |
| colorita | colorite | colored |
| Maschile | Femminile |
| alti | alte | tall |
| bello | bella | beautiful |
| brevi | brevi | short, brief |
| biondo | bionda | blonde |
| chiaro | chiara | clear, light (of color) |
| corto | corta | short |
| coraggiosi | coraggiose | courageous |
| disordinato | disordinata | disorderly |
| dolce | dolce | sweet |
| debole | debole | feeble |
| esatto | esatta | accurate |
| freddo | fredda | cold |
| grazioso | graziosa | graceful |
| grande | grande | large |
| garbati | garbate | polite |
| gentili | gentili | kind |
| italiani | italiane | Italian |
| inglese | inglese | English |
| lento | lenta | slow |
| svelto | svelta | lithe |
| ottimo | ottima | best, excellent |
| ordinato | ordinata | orderly |
| pigri | pigre | lazy |
| pallido | pallida | pale |
| piccolo | piccola | small |
| ruvidi | ruvide | rough |
| serio | seria | serious, honest |
| suo | sua | his, her, your |
| sgarbato | sgarbata | rude |
| tuo | tua | thy |
| timido | timida | timid |
| ultimo | ultima | last |
| vostro | vostra | yours |
| zoppi | zoppe | lame |
| zitto | zitta | silent |
| carino | carina | dear |
| liscio | liscia | smooth |
| obbediente | obbediente | obedient |
| contenti | contente | content, happy |
| allegro | allegra | joyous |