But here's what is more confusing:

According to some of the grammar books I have

If we take the adjective "grande" for example.

If we say "un hombre grande" [ adjective after the noun ], it means " a PHYSICALLY LARGE man ].

However, if we say "un gran hombre" [ adjective before the noun ] it means "a GREAT man".

So does "Buena" change in meaning when it comes before or after the noun ?

For example, I use the Studyspanish.com course, which the U.S. State Department uses.

One of the examples there is:

Tengo una pluma buena.

So this would seem to imply that "buena" can come before the noun or after.

Confused.

Muchas Gracias

Dave

First let me say that there is a Pa’ Que Sepas which covers the issue of placing adjectives before or after a noun but I do not remember which one.  Of course you are correct about some adjectives having different meanings depending on whether they come before or after the noun, here is a list of a few. http://spanish.about.com/library/weekly/aa082100a.htm

Before this gets to heave let me just say that bueno and malo can come before or after the noun but when place before the noun, they are shortened to buen and mal if the noun is masculine and singular.  And of course additives usually come after the noun but as JP said in one of the Pa’ Que Sepas, in songs or poetry the adjective might be placed before the noun to sound more poetic.

One of the general rules is that if an adjective is personal or subjective it comes before the noun and if it is objective it comes after the noun.

un gran hombre, a great man  (an opinon)
un hombre grande, a big man ( a fact)

The words bueno and Malo are in between being subjective and objective

This link give some information on adjective placement.  http://spanish.about.com/cs/grammar/a/whereadjective.htm

Dave

Please do not think too much about adjectives being subjective or objective, this does not seem to be a hard and fast rule.  For instance you could say una photo bonita – a beautiful photo, which sound subjective to me.  

This is more grammar than you asked for, so please only read the following if you are very interested in it.   

The text in red came form A New Reference Grammar of Modern Spanish (Fourth Edition) by John Butt and Carmen Genjamin.

Section 4.11.6 - Position of bueno, malo, grande, pequeño

The general rule applies: when they are clearly restrictive, they follow the noun.  When used restrictively, they usually indicate objective qualities.  When the precede the noun they usually express a subjective evaluation (which is usually the case, but see note iv for the special case of pequeño)

According to the GDLE, 3.4.2.2, in the case of bueno and malo, the proposed adjective may unambiguously refer to competence rather than moral qualities.  So in buen poeta. may be a scoundrel but a competent poet, whereas un poeta bueno may be a good poet and a good person.  Likewise un mal músico and Likewise un músico malo ‘a bad musician’ un buen amigo = ‘good as a friend’ and un amigo bueno = ‘a good friend and a good person’  The distinctions do not seem. So clear-cut to us.

(a)  Objective qualities

Tengo un abrigo bueno para los fines de semana, y uno regular para los laborables – ‘I’ve got a good coat for the weekends and a so-so one for the weekdays

Oscar Wilde dijo que no hay libros Buenos o malos sino libros bien o mal escritos – ‘Oscar Wilde said there are no good or bad books, only well ore badly written books’

…

(b)  Subjetive Qualities

Un buen carpintero – ‘a good carpenter’

Un gran éxito –‘ a great success’

…

Note (iv) Un pequeño problema is normal since problema is an abstract noun.  However una pequeña casa is less usual the una casita.

Many thanks for taking the time to provide these notes. I really appreciate it. They have really been helping me with "fine tuning" some of my Spanish.

I have Latino neighbors in my neighborhood in Florida, and these little things help me sound more natural when I talk to them.

Today was my 51st birthday.

On my birthday last year, I swore that I would walk again despite all the "experts" saying no. I am walking now. Not quite a 100%, but I can get around and bend over to tie my shoelaces.

By the time I am 52, I am determined to be speaking spanish fluently.

My physical therapy is not very pleasant at times, and listening to JP and Liliana each day really brightens up my day. I really enjoy the "charla"

God Bless you all

Dave

Dave

Happy birthday and big congratulations on walking again.  That’s fantastic.  It sounds like you are a man who does what he sets out to do.  If I had your determination, I would be fluent by now.

Keep up the great work.  

Steve