Pasado

[fglorca]

1. El septiembre pasado se celebró en Zaragoza el Campeonato de España. Más de trescientos participantes de Aragón estuvieron allí.

2. El año pasado el Ayuntamiento de Zaragoza ha recogido objetos perdidos por la ciudad, encontrados en lugares como la biblioteca y el parque.

Can ‘el septiembre pasado’ and ‘el año pasado’ in the above two examples both be replaced with ‘el pasado septiembre’ and ‘el pasado año’ without any change in meaning?

Many thanks in advance.

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

It's better to say "en septiembre pasado", but the sentence would be understood in context. I can't find an explanation why right now.
But if you say "el pasado septiembre", sounds a little over the top (more likely to be found in affected writing), but it's correct. In that case, "el" is necessary.


You can change the place of "pasado" without altering the meaning in both sentences.
"El pasado año" sounds strange, but it would be understood in context though.

Only keep in mind that when you use the adjective first, there is normally an implicit reason why you would use it like that --euphony, emphasis, intention...
Normally, when you use a word before another, you make a certain emphasis on this word. The meaning only changes depending on the tone and the contrast with the reality described by the sentence; the meaning doesn't change with the place, but with the whole intention in the sentence. I think the most common example of a meaning change is the use of the adjective "famous", so I'll use it to try and explain:
- Te presento al famoso doctor Martínez. -> Since you're likely talking in front of this person, it's most probable that you're saying he is actually famous. (Unless he's a part of the joke.)
- ¿Y éste es el famoso doctor? -> In this case, since it's a question, the speaker is likely doubting his being famous, and probably even his being a doctor.
- La famosa influencer cayó del acantilado tomándose fotos para Instagram. -> The speaker is emphasizing the fact that she was famous, so the irony is somewhere else.
- Al fin pude probar tu famosa sopa. -> The speaker may be using the term ironically, maybe because the cook had talked a lot about his/her capabilities for making soup, or because common friends talked about it. The ironic usage here would come from the fact that a soup is not normally famous by itself.

This said, the use of "pasado" might not be the best word to change place, without sounding a bit dramatic, and there would have to be a specific tone and context where it's meaning would have to change with its place in the sentence.

[fglorca]

Thanks so much, AngelicaDeAlquezar. Absolutely superb examples. Much appreciated.