The rule is that USUALLY (not always) this is the order: noun adjective As in every language when you change the usual order (and our syntax allows you to do this quite often), you are doing one of: a) add emphasis b) change the meaning in a predefined way c) both of the above /strana coppia/ is always used in this pattern, there is no rule behind this, only practice, probably it originated from the title of a movie. But you can say /un coppia un po` strana/ for instance. In any case /coppia strana/ or /strana coppia/ does not imply WHY they are strange, so it does not say much out of a context. instance of (b) : 1a) Paolo e`un ragazzo bravo. 1b) Paolo e`un ragazzo bravo in matematica 2a) Paolo e`un bravo ragazzo. 2b) Paolo e`un bravo ragazzo in matematica The only meaningful possibilities are (1b) and (2a). (1b) means /Paolo is clever in math. (2a) means /paolo is a GOOD boy (moral meaning, not cleverness!)./ (2b) has no meaning! (2a) is too vast; the listener would ask himself: at school? at sports?, in everything? is this possible? Every adjective that has this possibility offers a different meaning that is CODED in our language, so there is no shortcut in this. .