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In Italian normally adjectives come after the noun; hence "Anna gentile" and "professore gentile". But if the use is a special one, as with a book title, would it normally be reversed, so to say, giving "Gentile Anna - Gentile Professore"?

Gareth Griffiths
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    I wouldn't even say “normally”: for Italian adjective to come after nouns, it is a vague tendency, more often than not to be violated. Think buon giorno, una bella giornata, un forte mal di testa, sette colli, una vecchia storia, not to mention cases where the position of the adjective changes the meaning of the phrase, such as diverse persone (several people) vs. persone diverse (different people). – DaG Jan 30 '15 at 14:08
  • In any case, do you mean “Gentile Anna” etc. as in the beginning of a letter? “Dear Anna” etc.? – DaG Jan 30 '15 at 14:09
  • Thanks for your reply. You are right, I seem to have exaggerated the case with adjectives. In the case of "Gentile Anna - Gentile Professore", it is a question of how to translate a forthcoming essay/book title. The author claims he heard the expression "Gentile Anna, gentile professore", from the mouth of a staff member to describe a much-loved old professor in an Italian university. But did he mishear, I thought? Would it more likely have been "Anna gentile, professore gentile"? – Gareth Griffiths Jan 30 '15 at 16:03
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    I don't get the meaning of the sentence he heard. A female professore is a professoressa, if Anna is meant to be the professor's name. However, either position of the adjective makes (little :-) ) sense. – Mauro Vanetti Jan 30 '15 at 17:07
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    related question: http://italian.stackexchange.com/questions/1248/what-is-the-rule-for-adjective-order?rq=1 – I.M. Jan 30 '15 at 17:10
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    Hey, what if Anna Gentile were the full name of the professor? http://www.gentileanna.unisalento.it/ She doesn't seem to be "an old professor", though. – Mauro Vanetti Jan 30 '15 at 17:12
  • Thanks for the replies. The author I'm dealing with seems to be trying to think of the Italian equivalent of a worker praising (in just a few words) her boss of many years with the phrase "Kind Anna, kind professor" (or "Beloved Anna... our beloved professor"). So "Gentile Anna, gentile professoressa" sounds unnatural? – Gareth Griffiths Jan 30 '15 at 19:38
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    Oh, now it is clearer. It would more idiomatic ti say something like «Anna, la nostra cara professoressa». – DaG Jan 30 '15 at 23:02
  • "Gentile Anna, Gentile Professore" può essere l'incipit di una lettera formale rivolta da una persoan con una certa confidenza ma allo stesso tempo rispettosa. – bleish Feb 06 '15 at 19:22

1 Answers1

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It depends on the context:

  • If you want specify that they are gentle or kind, say: "Anna è gentile, il professore è gentile".

  • If you are speaking with an important person say "gentile Anna, gentile professore" to open a formal speech.

N.B: "gentile Anna" and "gentile professore" don't mean that Anna and the teacher are gentle or kind, but only that you are speaking in a formal language to them.

Charo
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Rikos Mafaldin
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  • Mind the fact that, as made clear in the comments by the OP, the “professore” is supposed to be Anna herself. – DaG Feb 17 '15 at 19:53