#aero.cocoa

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shell torrentBOT
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Please be patient

Our volunteers look into many questions every day; sometimes it takes them a little while to answer.

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Make it descriptive, including relevant context, but also to the point. This way you improve your chances of getting a more relevant and specific answer.

wise salmon
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Some adjectives are moveable in the sense that they can either be placed to the left or to the right of the noun, and where they are placed carries a different connotation. Usually, it's metaphoric when it precedes the noun and literal when it succedes the noun. For example, the adjective « propre » means 'clean' but in « ma propre maison » it means 'own' like 'my own home' because you'd keep your own place clean, right?
Anyway, « principal » carries the idea of being major, being the most important. « un problème principal » would be understood as the major or the most important problem whereas « un principal problème » would be understood as the first problem because usually the most important bit comes first. If you're using a translator, it might be thinking that by using « problème principal » you meant just the most important problem and that by using « principaux problèmes » you're just talking about a series of problems whose urgency are high but not the highest.

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That being said, in terms of « principal », I don't think the nuance is that major (yes this word choice is intended) to warrant care into where it's placed so whether it's before or after the noun, both will carry the same meaning. It's not like « propre (own/clean), ancien (former/old) » where the difference in meaning can lead to significant changes in meaning. You'll learn these adjectives as you learn since, from what I know, there is no 'canonical list' of all moveable adjectives.

buoyant granite
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mrc beaucouppp!

buoyant granite
wise salmon
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No worries! Do note that most French adjectives are placed on after the nouns they modify so whenever you're in doubt, putting them after the noun would be right for most adjectives