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The accepted answer to "When do adjectives go before or after a noun?" highlights that it is somewhat arbitrary and hard to generalize.

For a given adjective, where can I look up whether it goes before or after the noun, or if the meaning would be different?

For example, I am hesitating about where to put the adjective "éventuel" when discussing a potential contract amendment. In TLFi, there are usages cited with both adjective-noun and noun-adjective orders, but it is not clear to me if the meaning is specific to a given order or if it's arbitrary.

B. [En parlant d'un événement] Dont on ne peut savoir quand il se produira, ni même s'il se produira. Action, décision éventuelle; nomination, offre éventuelle; intervention éventuelle; utilisation éventuelle de qqc. Honoré avait réfléchi à tous les problèmes que posait la candidature éventuelle de Maloret (AYMÉ, Jument, 1933, p. 82) :

  1. les pastilles de menthe avaient disparu des pharmacies parce que beaucoup de gens en suçaient pour se prémunir contre une contagion éventuelle. CAMUS, Peste, 1947, p. 1310.

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C. [En parlant d'une pers.] Qui remplira une fonction donnée si certaines conditions se trouvent réalisées. Employeur, remplaçant, successeur éventuel; lecteur, utilisateur éventuel; ennemi éventuel.

Il avait calculé qu'il faudrait au moins une minute aux policiers ou aux agresseurs éventuels pour enfoncer la porte ainsi calée (ABELLIO, Pacifiques, 1946, p. 384) :

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katriel
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    Even in the sentence by Camus, he could very well have written contre une éventuelle contagion, and it would have been the same. – Frank Feb 22 '24 at 18:10
  • There aren't any other fixed rules than those given in the answers you are pointing to. As already said Grevisse is probably the most comprehensive exposition. It will often be on a case by case basis. – None Feb 23 '24 at 08:41
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    Among all the example given in the TLF or Robert I cannot find an example where changing the place would change the meaning. In some cases the choice may depend on sentence balance, so it's more about style than meaning. – None Feb 23 '24 at 08:55
  • @None, right, I get that it's case-by-case. But for a given case (i.e., a given adjective), is there a dictionary that specifies which placement(s) are acceptable? TLF does not. – katriel Feb 23 '24 at 23:13
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    If the place changes the meaning you will find the different meanings in a dictionary (although it may not be specified that the place matters), you can expect that if a particular adjective doesn't fall under the placement rules, both, before & after are acceptable. – None Feb 24 '24 at 07:11

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